Ukraine has received 500,000 155-mm artillery shells purchased outside Europe last year as part of the Czech Republic's initiative. This initiative was supported by 18 countries. This is reported by Barron's, according to UNN.
The initiative, known as the Czech Ammunition Initiative, has provided 500,000 155-millimeter artillery shells
18 countries, including Canada, Germany, and Portugal, have raised about $1.8 billion to purchase 155-mm shells for Ukraine. The first batch was shipped in June last year.
In total, in 2024, according to Fiala, the Czech Republic mediated the supply of about 1.5 million shells. He added that Prague continues to send tens of thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine every month. The supply of ammunition partially compensates for the failure to fulfill the EU's promise to supply one million shells to Ukraine by the end of March this year, which was disrupted due to limited production capacity.
Fiala also said that the West should use Russian assets frozen after the invasion to finance the supply of military equipment to Ukraine.
Recall
On February 15, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine from third countries had delivered at least 1.6 million units. Financing for the supplies has been secured until April, and the initiative will continue beyond that date.
As reported by Reuters, last October, Petr Fiala saidthat the initiative would reach the goal of supplying half a million shells by the end of 2024. A Czech government source told the news agency on February 15 that the half-million was only for 155-mm artillery shells, with the rest being other types of shells larger than 100 mm.