A soldier of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard camouflages a 155mm self-propelled gun M109 Paladin at the front line, near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Jan 28, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

BRUSSELS/ST PETERSBURG/MOSCOW/KYIV - The European Union would miss the target to deliver one million rounds of artillery shells to Ukraine by March, Josep Borrell, high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told a press conference on Wednesday.

After the informal meeting of EU defense ministers, Borrell said by "destocking, and individual and joint procurement," the EU would only be able to deliver 524,000 shells, or about 52 percent of the objective, by March.

However, he said as production capacity increases, the EU would be able to deliver to Ukraine more than 1 million rounds by the end of this year.

The Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric submarine "Kronshtadt" has entered service with the Russian Navy, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday

Last year, EU member states pledged to supply Ukraine with 1 million 155-millimeter shells by March 2024 as its conflict with Russia drags on.

Borrell said that the EU's production capacity has increased by 40 percent since Russia's special military operation against Ukraine in February 2022, and it would reach 1.4 million by the end of 2024.

ALSO READ: Russia says return of US nuclear weapons to Britain dangerous

Also on Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric submarine "Kronshtadt" has entered service with the Russian Navy.

Official flag-raising ceremony on the submarine took place at Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg, with Navy Commander-in-Chief Nikolai Yevmenov, Northern Fleet Commander Aleksandr Moiseev and other representatives attended. Yevmenov announced at the ceremony that the submarine was enlisted in the formation of the Northern Fleet.

The Lada-class submarines, developed by Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering, are Russia's fourth generation non-nuclear submarines. They can carry mines, torpedoes and Kalibr cruise missiles and are designed to protect naval bases and the sea coast, as well as defeat submarines and surface ships.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Lada-class submarines are distinguished by a significant increase in detection range and ultra-low noise. 

ALSO READ: Ukraine says it uncovered mass fraud in weapons procurement

Recently swapped Ukrainian prisoners of war hug after a prisoner exchange on the Ukraine- Russia border, on Jan 31, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Separately, a total of 195 Russian soldiers have returned from Kyiv-controlled territory, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The Russian soldiers in captivity were released and returned on Jan 31 as a result of negotiations, according to a statement by the ministry.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that 207 Ukrainian captives returned home from Russia.

"Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what," Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram.

Zelensky thanked the chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, the President's Office head, Andriy Yermak, and other officials, for the efforts to free captured Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, Yermak said on Telegram that the released soldiers served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service and the National Police.