Ukraine may receive 1.5M shells through Czech initiative, Lipavský states
Jan Lipavský, Head of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian military may receive twice as many shells as part of the Czech initiative. Possible supply of 1.5 million artillery ammunition, announces the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechia, Jan Lipavský.
"We can do much more than the initially announced number (referring to 800,000 ammunition for Ukraine - ed.)," says the minister, noting that Ukraine can receive one and a half million shells in total.
He has clarified that funding for the initial deliveries of ammunition is needed before they are sent to Ukraine. Therefore, the Czech initiative itself will not be sufficient to support Ukraine.
According to Lipavský, the Czech initiative is already bearing fruit and affecting combat operations in Ukraine, even though the supply of ammunition has not yet begun.
"As we see, it already helps Ukraine to fight better, because they know that they will have a supply of fresh ammunition, which changed their perspective on usage of the current stockpiles," he adds.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to specify the timing of the delivery of ammunition to Ukraine.
Ammunition for Ukraine
Shells are currently one of the main needs of Ukrainian defenders, as their use allows them to hold back the Russian occupiers' advance.
Last month, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that his country had found about 800,000 ammunition that could be transferred to Ukraine outside the EU countries. But funding is needed for the deliveries.
Several Western countries have already announced their participation in the Czech initiative. They have allocated funds for the purchase of ammunition.
Recently, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the first shipments of ammunition to our defenders are expected in April.
