The Czech Defence Ministry and local industry have identified 800,000 units of available ammunition that could be delivered to Ukraine within weeks, Czech President Petr Pavel announced on Saturday, with Defence Minister Jana Černochová adding that the deal would only go ahead if funding were secured.
Ukraine desperately needs artillery ammunition to fend off Russian forces. Although the EU has promised to deliver one million rounds by March, it failed due to low production capacity. The Czech Republic is, therefore, exploring the possibility of buying ammunition from outside the EU.
“Our Defence Ministry and our companies in the defence industry, through their contacts, have an overview of where equipment and ammunition are available,” Pavel said during a press briefing in Munich, where he attended the Munich Security Conference.
According to Pavel, the Czechs have identified a significant amount of 155mm NATO-standard artillery shells and the 122mm calibre often used in the former Soviet Union.
“As far as I know, our companies have identified, variously around the world, up to 500,000 NATO 155mm calibre rounds and up to 300,000 122 mm calibre rounds,” Pavel said.
“In cooperation with our partners, mainly from Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada, we are raising the financial resources to cover the transaction. And then we will transport the equipment and ammunition to Ukraine through our resources,” he added.
This information was later confirmed by Černochová, who added that Czechia could ensure the supply of ammunition to Ukraine if funding were secured. The minister said the issue had already been discussed at last week’s NATO defence ministers’ meeting.
However, Pavel and Černochová refused to reveal from which countries the ammunition could be bought in bulk.
“However, I cannot be more specific because the countries that could cooperate in this project have conditioned their participation on the fact that we will not disclose specific information about them,” Černochová added.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
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