The European Commission hopes that the EU countries will agree to create a special fund for military support for Ukraine in the coming days.

"For EU members in the near future, it remains to work out in detail (the creation of a special fund – ed.), which, I hope, will not take long, so... we hope in Brussels that they will be finalised by member states in the coming days and as soon as possible," Peter Stano, Lead European External Action Service Spokesperson, said at a briefing on Monday.

According to him, the issue of supplying artillery shells was discussed at least three times last week, including an informal meeting of defence ministers, a meeting of EU summit leaders, and an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Saturday.

"I believe that the conclusions of the European Council on Thursday are very clear when it comes to Europe's determination to continue to help Ukraine. This is also evidenced by the results of an informal meeting of defense ministers, and foreign ministers only confirmed that the EU will continue to support Ukraine not only as much as necessary, but also the way it is necessary", Stano said.

At an extraordinary summit on 1 February, EU leaders did not agree to establish a special fund for military assistance to Ukraine, but European Council President Charles Michel said there was progress.

The plan to allocate €20 billion for the European Peace Facility was first officially announced in July. At the time, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that it could take the form of a four-year "special fund" (the Ukraine Assistance Fund) of €5 billion a year.

The EU already provides military assistance to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (in particular, it reimburses member states for weapons provided to Ukraine), but it is provided through tranches that can be blocked by individual member states.

In an address to the European Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the creation of a special fund.