Luxembourg joins Czechia initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine

"Luxembourg joins the Czech artillery ammunition initiative in support of the Defense of Ukraine," says the minister.

The minister also stated that this would be part of the overall effort to provide Ukraine with the necessary capabilities, crucial for combating the Russian aggressor.

Czechia's initiative

In mid-February 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that the Czech Republic had found 800 thousand of artillery shells of calibers 155 and 122 millimeters in Ukraine. Another 18 countries will join the collection initiated by Czechia, including Latvia.

Bloomberg recently reported that Ukraine's allies have allocated almost all the necessary funds for the purchase of 800,000 artillery shells as part of the Czech initiative.

In March 2023, the defense and foreign affairs ministers of the EU agreed on a plan for joint procurement of ammunition. It envisages providing Ukraine with 1 million shells over the next 12 months. Specifically, seven countries were involved in the discussions. However, in November, the EU informed members that it is unlikely to deliver the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine. This plan is supposed to be executed by March 2024.

At the end of January 2024, Bloomberg reported that the EU would not be able to deliver the promised one million projectiles to Ukraine by the previously stipulated deadline of March 1, 2024. By that time, EU countries would only have accumulated 600 thousand munitions. According to the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, the EU will be capable of producing up to 2 million artillery munitions annually for Ukraine starting in 2025.