BERLIN (AP) – Germany, France and Poland pledged Friday to procure more weapons for Kiev and step up production of military equipment with Ukraine’s partners, helping Ukraine overcome arms shortages. He promised to rely on the three European countries that are trying to do so. military resources.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to a hastily arranged summit between the three countries of the so-called “Weimar Triangle”. The meeting took place as Russia votes in an election that all but guarantees an extension of President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Scholz said Thursday that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about what is needed now.
“He knows that he can trust us, and today we are sending a new signal from here asking for support to Kiev,” he said after the meeting. “But a very clear signal is also being sent to Moscow. The Russian president must know that we will not loosen our support for Ukraine.”
Kiev’s military expects more military supplies from Ukraine’s Western partners, while larger and better-equipped Russian forces launch an onslaught on several front-line points in Ukraine. is struggling with The European Union’s plan to produce one million artillery shells for Ukraine has fallen far short, and political differences in the United States have held up aid to the country.
“Starting immediately, we will procure more weapons for Ukraine across world markets,” the German leader said.
“Secondly, the production of military equipment will be expanded, including cooperation with Ukrainian partners,” Scholz added. And he highlighted commitments made at a conference in Paris last month, saying a new “long-range rocket artillery coalition” would be established.
Poland’s foreign minister says sending NATO troops to Ukraine is ‘not inconceivable’https://t.co/G0UHgyP3oD
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 9, 2024
Scholz did not provide details, and the three leaders did not take questions. Macron also reaffirmed France’s support for a Czech-led plan to buy ammunition and shells outside the European Union, without providing further details.
“We want to spend our money and help in every way possible to make sure that the situation in Ukraine gets better, not worse, in the coming weeks and months…here and now,” Tusk said.
Kiev’s military expects more military supplies from Ukraine’s Western partners, while larger and better-equipped Russian forces launch an onslaught on several front-line points in Ukraine. is struggling with A European Union plan to produce one million artillery shells for Ukraine has fallen far short, and political differences in the United States have held up aid to Ukraine.
“This is a serious moment,” President Macron said. “A new era is dawning, and we are in it. And on this day, all three of us are united, with the same clear resolve regarding the situation in Ukraine, and that we will never let Russia win and the Ukrainian people.” It is a strength for our people in the fact that we are determined to support until the end our security and Europe.”
Germany, France and Poland are among Ukraine’s key allies. Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest military donor after the United States and has stepped up its support this year, but Scholz has faced criticism for refusing to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles.
Russia cannot be allowed to win ‘existential’ war in Ukraine, ‘we must not be weak’, thunders French President Emmanuel Macron https://t.co/lewYqcTJpX
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 15, 2024
Their remarks did not address the differences between Scholz and Macron, after Scholz said at a meeting last month that the deployment of Western ground troops should not be ruled out in the future. Scholz said participants agreed that European countries “will not send ground forces” to Ukrainian soil.
On Thursday, President Macron reiterated his position, saying that the current situation does not require the deployment of ground troops. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for Chancellor Scholz, said on Friday that the prime minister’s position had not changed.
In Brussels on Friday, the EU executive branch allocated 500 million euros ($545 million) to a project to alleviate bottlenecks slowing the production of explosives and other materials used to make artillery shells in the EU and its allies. . The European Commission estimates that the plan will enable industry to produce 1.7 million shells a year by the end of the year and 2 million shells by the end of 2025.
Mr. Scholz and Mr. Tusk recently visited Washington and called on the United States to lift aid to Ukraine.
