Borrell calls on EU member states to jointly replenish their arsenals after providing weapons to Ukraine

WASHINGTON. Sept 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The stocks of weapons in the EU countries have been depleted by supplies to Ukraine, in this regard, it is necessary to replenish the arsenals of the member states of the Union, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said on Monday.

"The military stocks of most member states has been, I wouldn’t say exhausted, but depleted in a high proportion, because we have been providing a lot of capacity to the Ukrainians," he said during a debate with EU lawmakers, the Associated Press quoted him as saying.

The diplomat called on the member states of the union to replenish their arsenals, saying that it is best to do it together.

"It has to be refilled. The best way of refilling is doing that together. It will be cheaper," Borrell noted.

Warnings about the depletion of weapons stocks have already been received from EU member states. So, last week, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that Berlin “is reaching the limits of what we can give from the Bundeswehr," the American edition of Politico reminds.

Since the beginning of Russia’s open aggression in Ukraine, the EU has provided Kyiv with military assistance worth about EUR 2.5 billion through the European Peace Fund, and some of the weapons came from the EU countries’ own stocks, the ezine notes.