Ukraine will receive the first batch of 180 000 shells already in June. Itʼs about allied procurement within the framework of the Czech initiative.
This was reported by the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, in an interview with the German TV channel ARD.
"I and our Prime Minister Petr Fiala assume that the first batch of almost 180 000 ammunition will be delivered in June, and subsequent contracts will be concluded for a five- to six-figure number of shells," said the politician.
In his opinion, from the very beginning of the invasion, the West was too cautious in providing weapons to Ukraine and this should be corrected.
"If we had missed this period of reflection and risk assessment, Ukraine would have received this aid several months, and maybe even years earlier, and the situation could have been different. We should learn lessons from the past and provide help now as much as possible and as soon as possible," concluded the Czech leader.
Czech initiative
In February, Czech President Petr Pavel said that his country had found a way to get 800 000 shells for Ukraine, but this initiative needed funding. Already in March, the Czech Republic, together with its partners, managed to collect part of the funds for the purchase of the first batch of 300 000 artillery shells for Ukraine.
On March 26, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky said that Ukraine could receive 1.5 million shells within the framework of the Czech initiative.
On April 16, the Czech Republic contracted the first 180 000 ammunition for Ukraine
The full list of countries financing the initiative is not announced. However, it is known that Finland, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, Canada, France, Poland and Belgium have already joined it.
It is interesting that Slovakia did not join the initiative, but the citizens of the country independently collected €3 million for it.