Czech Republic locates artillery ammunition abroad for Ukraine. Allies asked to fund the purchase
"We've identified half a million units of 155-millimeter(6.1 in) caliber ammunition and 300,000 units of 122-millimeter(4.8 in) caliber ammunition," said President Pavel, as quoted by lidovky.cz.
2:23 AM EST, February 18, 2024
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So where is this ammunition? Early in February, "Politico" reported that the Czech Republic showed interest in ammunition from armament companies based in South Korea, Turkey, and South Africa. However, President Pavel didn't disclose the names of any countries during his announcement.
"Financing will not be a problem"
"Revealing the sources openly is not feasible. If it were, these countries would have directly supplied Ukraine with the ammunition. However, political factors may prevent them from doing so," stated the Czech president. He added that thanks to the connections of the Czech Ministry of Defense and Czech arms companies, they have an excellent overview of available ammunition and equipment worldwide.
Moreover, President Pavel expects no difficulty securing finances for the purchase of ammunition, though he did not reveal an exact amount. "The financial aspect will be determined during the negotiation process with these countries," he said.
Sharing his experience of similar endeavors with Denmark, the Netherlands, and Canada, the president confirms that such a purchasing model is efficient, quick, and trustworthy. "Given the conference's general mood, I anticipate there won’t be any issues with securing sufficient funds to finalize the transaction," President Pavel added.
According to Defense Minister Jana Černochovej, the participating countries in delivering the ammunition to Ukraine insist on not unveiling specific data about them.
"Provided that European Union countries can't substantially enhance their production capability in artillery ammunition, we suggest procuring ammo for Ukraine from other nations," stated Černochová.
It's essential to recall that the EU committed last year to deliver one million ammunition units to Ukraine by March. This promise has only been halfway fulfilled so far.
Source: lidovky.cz