The European Union has only delivered a third of the one million artillery shells it had promised to Ukraine, as the bloc’s plan to ramp up munition production falls behind schedule.

Brussels has supplied Kyiv with about 300,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition since signing off on the scheme to bolster its dwindling stocks earlier this year, Bloomberg reported.

Under the plan, member states were first encouraged to dip into their existing stocks before increasing industrial capacity and clubbing together to sign joint orders large enough to convince manufacturers to ramp up production.

Shipments were scheduled to be made over a 12-month period, with the final shell set to be handed to the Ukrainians in March next year.

But more than six months on, the initiative has delivered about 30 per cent of its overall target to date.

Based on current progress and the number of contracts signed so far, it now risks falling short of the promised amount of shells, Bloomberg reported.