Anastasia Gorbacheva19:05, 06.03.24

The arms company intends to create a joint venture with Ukroboronprom.

One of the largest European arms manufacturers intends to help Kiev increase its own production of heavy ammunition . Czechoslovak Group AS plans to invest “hundreds of millions of euros” in Ukraine.

Billionaire chief executive Michal Strnad said CSG is in talks with state arms concern Ukroboronprom about setting up a joint venture and is looking for suitable sites for the production of artillery and tank shells, as well as heavy equipment.

CSG alone has increased large-caliber ammunition production at its factories in Slovakia, Spain and Serbia more than 10-fold since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, he said.

“It’s not easy to manage such rapid growth. If we have an agreement, we will transfer our technology to Ukraine. Thus, we could use their capabilities and their people to increase the production of artillery and tank ammunition,” Bloomberg quotes the billionaire as saying.

In addition to ammunition, CSG produces military and civilian Tatra trucks, armored vehicles and wheeled self-propelled howitzers, and also modernizes Soviet T72 tanks for the Ukrainian army. To meet growing global demand, the company is building new production facilities in the Czech Republic and expects to complete its $1.9 billion acquisition of U.S.-based Vista Outdoor Inc.’s small-calibre ammunition business next month.

Until now, CSG has relied mainly on loans from local banks, but after the Vista deal it intends to refinance all of its debt through syndicated loans as well as international bonds in euros and dollars, according to Strnad.

Weapons for Ukraine – latest news

A number of EU countries have announced that they are ready to join the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine. Thus,  Belgium decided to allocate  200 million euros for this purpose.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said  15 countries are ready  to join the initiative, which is designed to respond to the shortage of ammunition. 

In addition,  Germany also decided to join the Czech initiative , which involves the purchase of 800,000 ammunition for Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2024