Czechia to build ammunition plant in Ukraine and launch production of assault rifles

During a joint meeting in Prague on 16 July, Ukrainian and Czech governments signed two agreements concerning joint weapon production.

Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, said during a press conference that he and his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala "discussed the supply of new types of weapons to the Ukrainian army, training and rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers, and new joint projects in the defence industry".

"Today we signed two important agreements, among other agreements in the defence industry. A new ammunition plant will be built in Ukraine; the [relevant] agreement was signed by Sellier & Bellot [a Czech firearms ammunition manufacturer – ed.] and Ukroboronservis [Ukrainian Defence Service, a Ukrainian state company focused on the import and export of military products and services – ed]," Shmyhal announced.

The second agreement concerns the production of Colt CZ Group assault rifles in Ukraine.

"This is an agreement between Česká Zbrojovka [a Czech armament manufacturer – ed.] and a Ukrainian company, which I will not name for security reasons," Shmyhal added.

According to Shmyhal, these agreements "show a high level of interest in cooperation with our defence industry".

On 13 July, Czech President Petr Pavel shared details about the delivery of artillery shells to Ukraine as part of the Czech initiative, saying that an additional 50,000 rounds of ammunition are expected to arrive in Ukraine in July and August and from 80,000 to 100,000 rounds per month will be delivered from September until the end of the year.