Countries that publicly deny their willingness to do so may transfer ammunition to Ukraine.

The Euractiv publication became aware of Bulgaria's plans to arm Ukraine through intermediaries, and Politico writes that Estonia, which came up with the plan to send ammunition from EU warehouses to the front, will instead buy new ones, abusing the general budget.

This publication was informed by several sources in diplomatic circles of the EU, Zoryana Stepanenko, a correspondent of Radio Svoboda in Brussels, notes for TSN.

European ammunition, which Kyiv hopes will turn the tide of the war, has "cut" the European Union into several camps.

Those who demonstrate a desire to help Ukraine, the second - a more moderate category, and the third - those who are not ready to "drop" their shells.

But, as journalists learned, public intentions to stand aside may not reflect reality.

Ammunition is waiting on the battlefield in Ukraine, because of its lack, said Volodymyr Zelenskyi, and the spring counteroffensive is being postponed.

Norway and 18 other EU member states plan to restore Ukrainian reserves at their own expense.

"The High Representative has made it clear that he wants to see the widest possible participation.

Because it is for the benefit of Europe.

This is support for Ukraine, as well as support for European security and stability," said Peter Stano, representative of the European Commission on foreign affairs.

10 EU countries are outside the project, but if Lithuania and Poland regularly supply arms to Ukraine on a bilateral basis, Hungary refuses because, according to its top diplomat, it "wants peace."

The President of Bulgaria announced the other day that he will ban even the re-export of Bulgarian weapons to Ukraine.

"We will work together with the European Commission to increase investment so that we can replenish our stocks and help EU and NATO member states replenish theirs.

But Bulgaria does not take part in the joint supply of shells to Ukraine," said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

For many, this statement became an additional reason to accuse Radev of being pro-Russian, but Euractiv found out that Bulgaria, which has Soviet-style projectiles at its disposal, can sell them to Ukraine through intermediaries.

Under the guise of their own rearmament: they will receive new ammunition, but the old ones will be given to the state military factory.

What will be done with them - the current Minister of Defense did not explain, but the former explained in an interview quoted by the publication.

"This is the largest rearmament of the Bulgarian ground forces in recent history.

This is a huge amount of ammunition - hundreds of thousands.

There is a huge increase in the price of ammunition, and the Ministry of Defense will sell this ammunition through intermediaries to Ukraine.

This is the amount of ammunition that can turn the tide of the war in some directions on the Ukrainian front," said ex-Minister of Defense of Bulgaria Boyko Noev.

According to the EU plan, Ukraine should receive one million 155-millimeter shells over the next 12 months.

We are willing to give ours - compensation from the European Peace Fund is due.

A kind of joint "treasury" for these needs, in particular, which the EU countries fill proportionally with their GDP.

At one time, Estonia proposed to spend these funds on ammunition for Ukraine, and then on general purchases of its own.

"I'm really happy that the last time I made a proposal on ammunition and general procurement, we reached an agreement on it in 5 weeks," said Estonian Prime Minister Kaia Kallas.

Politico found out about behind-the-scenes claims to Estonia.

Citing sources in EU diplomatic circles who claim: Tallinn is among the capitals abusing the common fund.

On the one hand, it helps Ukraine as much as possible, on the other hand, as one of the diplomats put it in an interview with the publication, it gives "metal waste", thus modernizing its own army at the expense of the EU.

Another unnamed diplomat also gave an example: Estonia sends the Soviet Strela missile system, and asks for compensation based on the cost of the modern Stinger.

But the Estonian Ministry of Defense in a comment to Radio Liberty denied this information.

"Estonia never owned the Arrows and did not send them to Ukraine, nor did it own the Stingers and did not buy them.

Estonia has always said that its military aid to Ukraine is calculated on the basis of the cost of reconstruction,

as this is the amount of investment Estonia has to make to restore the donated capacity.

And last but not least: helping Ukraine is not a competition.

The stakes are much higher - to repel aggression in Europe," the Estonian Ministry of Defense said in a comment.

Experts interviewed by the publication have no doubt: the misunderstanding will be overcome.

The most important thing, they say, is the fact itself: in order to support Ukraine, the EU, as a bloc, is still capable of unprecedented decisions.

"For the first time, the European Peace Fund really serves this purpose, that we are actually reimbursing supplies to Ukraine, which needs it.

There are certain bumps along the way, but I don't think the process as such will be undermined.

It is more about the administrative legal mechanism and coordination between the member states and the center here in Brussels," said Pavel Havlicek, analyst of the International Affairs Association.

When, according to the plan, the first shells, which are so scarce there, will go to the front is still unknown.

And in order to increase their production in the long-term perspective, Poland, for example, calls to purchase them outside the EU, because it is necessary, they insist here and now.

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