A new ammunition plant will be built in Ukraine in cooperation with the Czech company Sellier & Bello, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced at a press conference in Prague yesterday after the second intergovernmental consultations between the Czech and Ukrainian cabinets.
The contract for the supply of goods and services was signed by the company with the Ukrainian state-run enterprise Ukroboronservice.
According to Shmyhal, one of the main sectors of cooperation is the defence industry, and the topic of discussion was the supply of new weapons to the war-torn country.
Shmyhal also mentioned cooperation in rifle production with the Colt CZ Group, which completed its acquisition of the ammunition manufacturer Sellier & Bellot this May.
The ammunition in question is small-calibre ammunition from Sellier & Bellot and Bren 2 rifles from the Ceska Zbrojovka arms maker.
Sellier & Bellot will supply the technology for the production of ammunition in Ukraine, said Colt CZ, which owns the small-calibre ammunition manufacturer. Sellier & Bellot and Ceska Zbrojovka have agreed with their Ukrainian partners to cooperate in the production of several types of small-calibre ammunition in Ukraine, the company said.
“Following a joint venture agreement with Ukroboronprom in February, Ceska Zbrojovka has signed a technology transfer agreement for the assembly of CZ BREN 2 rifles in Ukraine,” the company added.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova (ODS) told journalists that Czech-Ukrainian cooperation in the creation of a new ammunition plant could be similar to the Czech-Ukrainian drone manufacturing company U&C UAS. Part of the production and employees will be based in the Czech Republic, while the development will be on the Ukrainian side, she said.
She added that there is also a promise that Ukrainians helping within the Czech defence industry could be exempted from the mobilisation decree.
Ukraine and the Czech Republic are building a strong and strategic alliance, Shmyhal said. The cooperation will make Europe safer and bring benefits to both countries, he said.
Representatives of both governments also spoke about the Czech initiative to secure ammunition in countries outside the European Union, with Kyiv having already received the first 50,000 pieces.
“We hope for joint projects in the field of ammunition production on the territory of the Czech Republic and in safe places in Ukraine, and joint repair of helicopters on the territory of the Czech Republic,” Shmyhal also said.
According to the Ukrainian prime minister, the Czech Republic is a manufacturer of certain special equipment and components that are extremely important for Ukraine’s war effort. The Ukrainian side asked that contracts between Czech manufacturers and other countries be postponed and Ukraine be given priority, Shmyhal said.
He also thanked his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala (ODS) for his personal contribution to maintaining peace on the European continent in the current difficult period. He recalled that the Czech Republic had offered medical assistance to Ukraine in connection with the recent Russian attack on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, Okhmatdyt.
