The first deliveries of artillery ammunition under the Czech initiative should arrive in Ukraine in June at the latest, Czech National Security Adviser Tomas Pojar told CTK yesterday.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Ukrainska Pravda that the Ukrainian army, which has been resisting the Russian military invasion for over two years, would start receiving ammunition bought through the Czech initiative soon.
“At the moment, supplies of large-calibre ammunition are still coming from previous orders. The first deliveries from the ‘Czech ammunition initiative’ can be expected in Ukraine in June at the latest,” Pojar said.
He also said that deliveries contracted outside the initiative would continue for at least a year.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said he believed that deliveries under the Czech initiative would be implemented within a few months. “All information indicates that we will indeed achieve this goal,” he said after the government meeting, adding that he could not be more specific because of security concerns.
Kuleba plans to contact his Czech counterparts later this week, when they are expected to outline a plan for ammunition deliveries, he said.
“According to the first indications, our men at the front will see an increase in ammunition deliveries in the near future,” said Kuleba. “The Czech initiative is designed to be implemented throughout the year. The first ammunition will be delivered in the nearest future, then new deliveries will come throughout the year.”
Czech President Petr Pavel raised the possibility of purchasing artillery shells for Ukraine in third countries at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Tuesday that 18 countries, including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, had so far joined the purchase. He also announced that in addition to the confirmed purchase of 300,000 pieces of ammunition for Ukraine, the initiative had pledged another 200,000 pieces or so that were not yet confirmed.
“The Czech initiative is excellent, but it is not nearly enough,” Kuleba said today, saying Kyiv will seek more similar supplies.
Ukraine has relied heavily on Western military aid since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said earlier this year that ammunition shortages were a major problem for his country’s troops.
