Czechia urges allies to fulfil financial commitments for ammunition for Ukraine

Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová has called on European allies to contribute to Prague's initiative for supplying ammunition to Ukraine, as only four countries, according to her, have fulfilled their financial commitments.

According to Euractiv, Černochová said that the funds are gradually arriving in the Czech Republic, so Prague cannot buy ammunition on credit.

"If some countries have signed a memorandum but have not yet sent funds, we cannot proceed with acquisitions. It is a bit of an appeal to those governments which have already signed memorandums to send the money," she noted.

The Defence Minister also pointed out that so far, only Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Portugal have sent money for the purchase of ammunition.

On 28 May, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that Ukraine can expect to receive 500,000 artillery shells by the end of 2024 as part of the Czech initiative to purchase them from third countries.

Earlier, European Pravda reported that Czechia had arranged a meeting between the leaders of some of the countries taking the lead in supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which would focus on the supply of ammunition and permission to hit targets in Russia.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced at this forum that the first batch of artillery shells to be supplied under the Czech-led initiative would arrive in Ukraine "in the coming days".