Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, said his initiative to supply Ukraine with munitions produced outside Europe had raised the funds needed to buy 300,000 rounds, downgrading the number the country’s President had referred to yesterday.

The head of state, Petr Pavel, said yesterday that Ukraine would receive within the next few weeks 800,000 artillery rounds, for which 18 donor countries pledged to provide the necessary funding.

Děkuji všem zemím, které se doposud zapojily do české iniciativy na nákup munice pro Ukrajinu. Zatím se nám podařilo vybrat dostatek peněz na nákup první dodávky 300 000 dělostřeleckých granátů. Naším cílem je však poslat daleko víc!

Naše práce a pomoc Ukrajině tímto nekončí. V…

— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) March 8, 2024

Last month, Pavel told a security conference in Munich that the Czech Republic, a member of the EU and NATO, could gather a significant amount of weapons for Ukraine from outside Europe. He had said then that, in cooperation with Canada and Denmark, the Czechs had found 500,000 155 mm rounds and 300,000 122 mm rounds.

Also read: IAI | Contracts for long-range ammunition for 2 international clients

This initiative could fill the gaps in the European defence industry, which is struggling to meet the demand for rounds from Kiev. The Financial Times previously reported that in order to proceed with the ammunition purchase, Prague needed to raise $1.5 billion.

Ukrainian forces have been running out of ammunition for months as they try to push back Russian troops. Some of Ukraine’s European allies have also appeared wary so far of going ahead with defence spending for a non-EU country.

Among the countries contributing to the Czech plan are Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The Netherlands pledged to pay $109 million, while Germany offered a three-figure sum of millions of euros. Last year, the EU promised to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Kiev by March 2024, but its promise has not been kept.

With information from: APA MPA

Also read: European Defence Agency | Signs eight contracts for 155 mm ammunition