Czechia continues to receive requests from countries wishing to join the initiative to supply artillery shells to Ukraine. By the end of the year, Ukraine should receive about 500,000 rounds of 155-caliber ammunition, states the Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová.
“We have other memorandums of understanding on the table. Countries are still contacting us, and they want to participate in the ammunition initiative,” Černochová said, noting that there should be enough donors on a regular basis.
Černochová expressed hope that the ammunition delivered to Ukraine under the Czech initiative will prove itself on the battlefield.
“We will do our best to make sure that is the case. But the ammunition will be in the hands of the Ukrainians, and, of course, it will depend on their tactics that they choose. We can provide them with support in the form of military equipment,” she emphasized.
Speaking about strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons, the Czech minister also advocated that the Ukrainian army use the transferred equipment as it sees fit.
“In any case, there is no violation of international law by Ukraine. According to international law, Ukraine, as an attacked country, has the right to defend itself in the way it sees fit,” Černochová added.
Czech munitions initiative
In April of this year, Czech President Petr Pavel said that he had found 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, but that money was needed to buy them and hand them over to the Ukrainian army. To do this, the Czech Republic launched an initiative to raise funds from partners.
Initially, it was expected that the first shells under the Czech initiative would arrive on the battlefield in May, but they have been delayed.
As explained by the owner and head of the Czech defense company CSG, Michal Strnad, part of the ammunition will come to Ukraine with a delay due to its poor quality.
