EU boss calls for ‘war economy’ — RT World News
Charles Michel said that the European bloc will double its production of artillery shells by the end of 2024
The European Union must reimagine its military strategy and significantly increase its defense production in order to help Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia, European Council President Charles Michel said on Monday. Putin made his call at a time when Kiev is increasingly warning of ammunition shortages.
He added: “Russia represents a serious military threat to our European continent and to global security. If we do not get the EU response right and do not give Ukraine enough support to stop Russia, we are next.” Michel wrote in an op-ed published in newspaper La Libre Belgique and news website Euractiv.
The President of the European Union said so He added: “For decades, Europe has failed to invest sufficiently in our security and defense.” Now he urgently needs a “A radical and irreversible shift in our thinking towards a strategic security mindset.”
We must therefore be prepared to defend and shift to a “war economy” mode. It is time to take responsibility for our security. We can no longer depend on others or be at the mercy of election cycles in the United States or elsewhere.
Michel said that European Union defense production has increased by 50% since the conflict began in February 2022, adding that the bloc will continue to work. “Doubling ammunition production to more than two million shells annually by the end of next year.”
The European Union is struggling to buy enough weapons and ammunition to meet Kiev's needs, with Ukrainian and international politicians and experts, as well as soldiers on the battlefield, blaming the shortage on a loss of territory to Russia. Shipments were further delayed when US President Joe Biden's $61 billion aid package was halted in Congress due to political infighting between Democrats and Republicans. The bill remains stalled due to opposition from some Republican lawmakers.
The situation with the supply of Western air defense systems is particularly dire, according to the New York Times. The newspaper cited an official US assessment in early February that without renewal, Ukrainian air defenses could only operate until March 2024.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky renewed his call for additional shipments, warning in February that… “Artificial arms deficit” It will only help Russia.
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