BRUSSELS, November 19. /TASS/. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius claims that Ukraine has allegedly reached parity with Russia in terms of artillery shells.

"The 1 million shells promised by the EU have now almost all been delivered to Ukraine," Pistorius told reporters in Brussels. He noted that just a few months ago, Russia held an advantage in artillery shell stocks. "Today, parity has nearly been achieved. This means Ukraine now has almost as many artillery shells at its disposal as Russia," he stated.

In February 2023, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pledged that EU countries would supply Kiev with one million artillery shells within a year. However, by early March 2024, the European Commission acknowledged that less than half of this promise had been fulfilled. Following this, European officials began framing their statements to suggest the one-million-shell target would be met by the end of 2024.

Borrell himself remarked in February that the EU lacked a "magic wand" to provide Ukraine with more shells. By mid-March, Ukrainian authorities expressed frustration, reporting they had received only about 400,000 shells.