The Czech Republic launched an initiative to purchase 800 000 artillery shells for Ukraine and found suppliers all over the world, including Russiaʼs allied countries.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes about this with reference to Czech officials.
According to them, the Czech Republicʼs Soviet heritage was suddenly needed — the country has ties to many countries of the Global South with large stockpiles of Soviet-era weapons and the ability to produce more shells.
The WSJʼs sources did not disclose which Russian allies are being referred to. Czech officials reached out to countries with either manufacturing facilities or compatible ammunition in storage and put them in touch with a Western country that would place the order and pay for shipping. Also, the Czech Republic would organize logistics so that the supplies go through its own borders or through third countries, so that Russia does not learn about the direct connection between the country of origin and Ukraine.
"Confidentiality is key here: we talk and will talk to anyone, regardless of their allegiance or political position — with very few exceptions, such as North Korea," added Tomas Pojar, the Czech governmentʼs national security adviser.
Deputy Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic Jan Zhires noted that Prague found a discrepancy between the friendly attitude of some governments towards the Russian Federation in public and their openness to doing business with Ukraineʼs allies.
In total, the Czech Republic found 800 000 artillery shells from various coalitions of suppliers around the world, and also identified another 700 000 that it will be able to purchase with additional funding.
- So far, the Czech Republic, together with its partners, was able to raise part of the funds for the purchase of the first batch of artillery shells for Ukraine. We are talking about 300 000 ammunition out of the 800 000 promised. The country continues to look for partners to further support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor. Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway and Portugal have already agreed to participate in the initiative.