Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine may be canceled: Reason revealed

The leader of ANO and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called the initiative "rotten," saying it is too costly for taxpayers and would be canceled if he returns to power.

His deputy, Karel Havlíček, added that ammunition supplies should be regulated at the NATO level due to "questionable suppliers and low quality."

The Czech government, led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, defended the ammunition initiative.

"Any halt to the initiative would be a real gift to Putin. Those who talk about it are gambling with Europe's security," Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský warned last month at a meeting with Czech ambassadors.

According to Czech President Petr Pavel, Russia previously had a tenfold advantage over Ukraine in artillery ammunition, but now that ratio has decreased to 2-to-1 in Moscow’s favor.

The initiative collects Western ammunition donations, purchases shells on the global market, and sends the total amount to Kyiv.

Last year, Czechia coordinated the delivery of 1.5 million large-caliber rounds with financial contributions from 14 countries. This year, according to Aleš Vytečka, head of the Intergovernmental Defense Cooperation Agency, the goal is to supply 1.8 million shells.

He emphasized that the government aims to be as transparent as possible but noted that some information must be kept from the public.

"We cannot publicly disclose the type or price of the ammunition, its destination, or the delivery date. However, every single donation is reported on a weekly basis," Vytečka said.

The Czech president also responded to criticism of the initiative over the lack of transparency, calling such complaints an "attempt to undermine" the supplies.

Nevertheless, the ANO party, which criticizes the initiative, has significant voter support.

A June poll by the Stem organization asked about the level of Czech support for Ukraine: 49% said the current support is too much, 29% said it is about right, and 6% said it is insufficient.

Czech initiative

In February 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel announced plans to collect 800,000 artillery shells from partner countries and deliver them to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Ukraine received the first batch of shells as early as June 2024.

Overall, Ukraine has already received over one million artillery shells from countries participating in the ammunition supply initiative launched by Czechia.

Recently, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that the country plans to receive another 1.8 million artillery shells by the end of the year under the Czech initiative.

At the same time, former Czech Prime Minister and current leader of the opposition ANO movement, Andrej Babiš, intends to abandon the shell supply initiative if he comes to power after the parliamentary elections in Czechia this autumn.

Read more about the risk of losing Czech support for Ukraine in the RBC-Ukraine material.