Czechia announces deadlines for delivering ammunition to Ukraine
Photo: Tomáš Pojar, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Czechia and Advisor to the Prime Minister (Government Office of Czechia)
Ammunition purchased from non-EU countries at the initiative of Czechia may arrive in Ukraine as early as June, according to Tomáš Pojar, Czech National Security Advisor and Advisor to the Prime Minister.
"The promised money has to come, and the contracts must be made. At the point when the contract is concluded, it will take several weeks to get it (the ammunition) to Ukraine. From June onwards, supplies could flow," he says.
Poyar declined to disclose the origin of the ammunition, saying that the initiative is looking for ammunition around the world, "wherever it is available at a reasonable price and of reasonable quality."
The initiative's coordinators expect Russia to try to disrupt the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, so they are trying to keep all other details secret.
So far, more than 15 countries have pledged to provide funds for the purchase of ammunition. Among them are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Norway, as well as non-European allies such as Canada. While Czechia identifies available munitions around the world, other countries provide the necessary funding. Czechia then coordinates the delivery to the Ukrainian battlefields.
Czechia found shells for Ukraine
In recent months, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have faced an acute shortage of artillery ammunition at the front. Recently, for this reason, our soldiers had to retreat from the city of Avdiivka and lost several other settlements in the Donetsk region.
In February, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had found 800,000 artillery rounds for Ukraine's military needs: half a million of 155 mm caliber and 300,000 of 122 mm caliber. However, funds had to be raised to purchase them.
The initiative was supported by Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, and France. In particular, on March 6, Germany provided a three-digit million-dollar sum for the purchase of ammunition. And Norway donated more than $150 million for ammunition.
Recently, Pavel said that the allies have already found almost all the necessary funds to purchase the announced batch.
At the same time, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the Czech initiative had been promised another 200,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine on a non-binding basis.
