Germany will provide Ukraine with 180,000 artillery shells as part of a contribution to the ammunition procurement plan for Kyiv under the guidance of Czechia, totaling 576 million euros, according to El Mundo.
Two years after the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine's most acute need is for artillery ammunition, which is running low as both sides employ heavy artillery to maintain fortified positions largely static along the 1,000-kilometer front line.
Last month, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a 478 million euro aid package to Ukraine, not including the Czech initiative to supply ammunition.
"The total cost of both support measures exceeds one billion euros," said a representative of the German Ministry of Defense.
Czech initiative
Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague has identified around 800,000 artillery shells outside the European Union that could be transferred to Ukraine. However, he said that funding is required for this purpose.
Following this, a number of Western countries have begun allocating funds for the purchase of ammunition, which is one of the main needs of Ukrainian defenders.
Recently, the Czech Foreign Minister stated that as part of the initiative, Ukraine could receive 1.5 million shells, not 800,000 as previously planned.
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Kyiv expects the first batch of ammunition to be delivered in April.