EU leaders set to endorse joint ammo purchases for Ukraine

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are poised to endorse a plan for sending Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months to help the country counter Russia’s invasion. EU foreign and defense ministers approved the plan for a fast-track purchasing procedure earlier this week. The leaders of the bloc’s 27 member nations are expected to give it their political blessing on Thursday at a summit in Brussels. With Ukraine facing ammunition shortages after more than a year of fighting, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas brought to the table last month the idea of the EU setting up a joint purchasing plan similar to the one devised during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines.