Czechia to use frozen Russian assets profits to fund ammunition for Ukraine
Czechia will use part of the revenue of Russian assets frozen in the EU to purchase high-caliber ammunition for Kyiv, Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said on Aug. 20.
European countries hold roughly two-thirds of the $300 billion Russian sovereign assets immobilized after the outbreak of the full-scale war.
While hesitant to confiscate the assets outright, the EU devised a plan to use windfall profits to fund Ukraine's reconstruction and defense needs.
"The European Union made a decision. This will allow us to buy hundreds of thousands of sorely needed high-caliber rounds," Cernochova said on X.
Czechia unveiled its initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine jointly with partners earlier this year amid shell shortages caused mainly by delays in U.S. assistance.
While initially aiming to deliver 800,000 shells this year, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told the Kyiv Independent in July that the currently pledged funds are sufficient only for 500,000 rounds.
This joint step by Prague and Brussels could speed up the purchase and delivery of the ammunition.
"This is another evidence of the allied trust in Czechia and our ammunition initiative. It is a unique opportunity to support Ukraine while using assets originally belonging to Russia and saving on public finances of European countries," the Czech defense minister commented.
A decision by the EU in May made roughly 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) available for immediate assistance for Ukraine, part of which will go to the Czech ammunition initiative, the Czech Defense Ministry said in a press release.
The statement did not specify the exact sum of the allocated funds or the number of rounds it will cover.
Going forward, Kyiv is expected to receive roughly 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) from frozen Russian assets profits every year under the EU scheme.
Separately, the Group of Seven (G7) also pledged a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, which would be covered by the proceeds of the frozen assets.
Though the Ukrainian leadership said the situation with ammunition has somewhat improved since the U.S. approved its long-awaited aid bill in April, foreign military supplies are still crucial as Russia continues pushing in Donbas and Ukraine is conducting cross-border incursion in Kursk Oblast.
Martin Fornusek
