The Czech government is developing a new initiative to procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, seeking support from other EU member states, German TV channel N-TV reported on 31 January.
According to N-TV, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that the success of the initiative depends on political will.
“If many EU member states join our initiative again, we can achieve a lot for Ukraine,” Lipavsky said, adding: “We are currently examining how we can finance the new ammunition initiative and will then see how many rounds of ammunition we can get for the money,” the minister added.
In November 2024, Lipavský confirmed that the Czech initiative for supplying artillery shells to Ukraine would continue into 2025, stating that allies had already located “a large quantity” of shells.
The current Czech ammunition procurement initiative has proven successful, with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirming that 520,000 155mm shells were delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2024, achieving 80% of planned targets.
However, the initiative faces potential challenges as Karel Havlíček, deputy leader of the Czech opposition ANO party currently leading in opinion polls ahead of autumn elections, announced that his plan plans to terminate the initiative, if his party comes to power.
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