Swedish Foreign Minister reveals EU efforts to address Ukrainian ammunition shortfalls – NV exclusive

The joint EU-NATO capacity to produce artillery shells is greater than Russia’s, and the West is already working to increase weapons production, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told NV in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17.

Sweden is one of the most active providers of support to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Sweden’s contribution of military, financial, and humanitarian aid has exceeded €2.3 billion, according to Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers.

Stockholm plans to support Ukraine with weapons in the future, Foreign Minister Billström said.

Billström also explained why Ukraine was not provided with enough weapons for its counteroffensive and shared his expectations about Ukraine joining NATO, which is currently being blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

– Western support with weapons is crucial, and Ukraine had difficulties in launching its counteroffensive. What is the main reason why Ukraine did not receive enough weapons to conduct such a military operation? Or was the amount of weapons not the cause of the operation’s shortcomings?

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– I think this issue has many aspects. One of them is the fact that you have an ongoing discussion in the US Congress, which is partly related to the election process. But now we hope that this issue will be resolved, and that the US Congress will decide on the package [of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine] proposed by the US administration, and the weapons will be able to go to Ukraine.

On the other hand, the situation for the EU is somewhat different. We have to overcome our internal debate that started in the fall and lasted until the end of December. The agreement [on €50 billion in EU aid to Ukraine] was not reached, but we are looking forward to it in February. This is the reason why money and weapons are not coming. But I am absolutely sure that it will happen.

– But I’m referring to the time when the counteroffensive took place in the summer. In particular, Ukraine was hoping for more tanks from its Western allies.

– First of all, we delivered a very large number of CV 90 armored vehicles [a family of Swedish infantry fighting vehicles], and President Zelenskyy has openly shown videos several times of CV 90s saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. So I believe that we, as the largest donors, have done our part. But we can and want to do more. We have provided Ukraine with the Archer [155 mm self-propelled] artillery system, which is also one of the best artillery support systems in the world.

– Sweden recently announced that it will increase its production of ammunition for Ukraine. Can you provide details on what this increase will look like?

– Actually, no, because it is a military secret. But I can say that yes, we need to increase [production] because we need ammunition for our own security. But first of all, we need to meet Ukraine’s demand so that we can supply them.

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Sweden also needs ammunition production as such. However, the ammunition must be delivered to Ukraine at a higher speed and in larger quantities. And we have all confidence, because, you know, we are a very highly industrialized country, and we are able to increase [production]. And I support the production of ammunition as much as I can.

– Ukraine has a significant need for ammunition. Do you think the West is able to meet it?

– Yes, of course. I mean, it’s not a question of capacity. Russia has no chance to provide itself with production at the same level as the combined production capacity of the European Union and the United States. This is not the issue. The issue is political will, as well as joining our efforts in industry. But this is happening now, and I am, as I said, very positive about the production of artillery shells for Ukraine.

– What are your expectations from the NATO summit in Washington this year? Do you expect Sweden to be accepted into the Alliance?

– I had hoped that we would be able to join NATO long before the Washington summit. In fact, while we are standing here talking [on January 17], the Turkish parliament is discussing Sweden’s accession to NATO. As we all know, Turkey and Hungary need to finalize the ratification process [of Sweden’s accession to NATO]. So we are looking forward to that, and then we will be able to join NATO.

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– Why can’t NATO say when Ukraine will be able to join the Alliance? I don’t think that Ukraine expects to become a member during the war, but NATO can’t even say that the Alliance will accept us after the war. What is the reason?

– This is a very complicated question, and I don’t think there are any easy answers. The main thing for Sweden is that we certainly believe that Ukraine will eventually have its place in both the EU and NATO. But the question of joining NATO is related to the process itself, and it is a little bit more complicated because it concerns the occupied territories and all the issues that were discussed at the NATO summit in Vilnius. But Sweden fully supports [Ukraine joining the Alliance].

*This conversation took place on January 17 at Ukraine House, which is organized annually by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum.

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