Oleg Davygora22:31, 03/27/24

The country’s Foreign Ministry stated that the number of artillery ammunition that can help Ukraine is not limited.

The Czech government has approved the country’s further contribution to an initiative to purchase ammunition to support Ukraine attacked by Russia from non-EU countries.

According to the publication Ceske Noviny, Prime Minister Petr Fiala did not name the amount. According to him, 20 countries have joined the initiative. He said this after today’s government meeting.

Fiala thanked the countries that joined the procurement plan. According to him, ammunition will arrive in Ukraine within weeks or months, which is already affecting the situation on the battlefield. 

The Foreign Ministry said today that the amount of artillery ammunition that can help Ukraine is not limited. Initially, the plan included the purchase of 800 thousand artillery shells. According to a statement by Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, the amount of ammunition delivered could almost double.

“The fact that the initiative is now so broad is because it is the only way to provide Ukraine with the ammunition it needs to defend itself boldly,” Fiala said.

He recalled that the initiative is designed to overcome the critical shortage of ammunition by next year, when the EU should already have sufficient capacity.

Portugal today officially joined the initiative, having previously announced that it would contribute one hundred million euros. Defense Minister Jana Chernokhova and her Portuguese counterpart today remotely signed a memorandum of understanding that ensures Lisbon’s participation, according to a Ministry of Defense press release. Previously, the Czech Ministry of Defense concluded similar documents with Denmark, Canada and Latvia.

“Creating a strong contractual basis with partners within the initiative provides a solid basis for ongoing efforts to supply ammunition to Ukraine. It will also allow for the creation of another form of cooperation with the Czech defense industry. This is why we are also entering into memorandums of cooperation with countries that have expressed interest in joining to our initiative,” Chernokhova said.

Other countries with which the Ministry of Defense plans to sign the document are Norway and the Netherlands.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the effort to provide arms assistance to Ukraine was based on discretion from the very beginning, thanks to which the Czech Republic is trusted by partners around the world. According to the department, they “managed to build an effective system based on reliable sources.”

Ammunition for Ukraine – an initiative of the Czech Republic

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his government has doubled its commitment to a Czech-led initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery shells for Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Riga along with his Latvian colleague Krisjanis Karins, Sikorsky refused to name the specific amount of funding.

Portugal also joined  the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine in third countries. 100 million euros will be allocated for this.

(C)UNIAN 2024