Borrell: EU military reserves are running low.
“Europe’s military reserves are running out,” the EU foreign policy chief told Kiev, referring to European military aid.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine has shown a gap in our defense capabilities, and this is a warning to the security of the European Union,” EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said in a recent statement on the Ukraine crisis.
“We need to increase our defense spending to fill the gaps left by not investing in defense capabilities,” Borrell said, according to Al Jazeera.
Referring to the shipment of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief added that European military aid to Ukraine had reduced their military reserves.
“The reduction of military reserves as a result of military aid to Ukraine is the most obvious example of these shortcomings,” Borrell wrote in a blog post, referring to the EU’s military shortcomings. In any case, this is at the forefront of the issues we have inherited from military budget cuts and lack of investment in the past.
He went on to argue that the EU’s defense capabilities and military spending do not match what is needed to counter security threats.
“From 1999 to 2021, the EU’s combined defense spending increased by only 20 percent, compared with 66 percent for the United States, 299 percent for Russia and 592 percent for China,” he said.
Borrell finally demanded that the European Union increase its military spending to provide a modern and cooperative armed forces and replenish its military reserves. He also suggested that the EU’s military capabilities, especially air, cyber and space defense, should be increased over the next five years.
Despite Moscow’s warnings, Western countries have been sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s military operation. Russia has said it will consider Western arms shipments to Ukraine a legitimate target.
