Small percentage of artillery shells from Czech-led initiative malfunction

A few issues have been reported with some of the artillery shells received through the Czech initiative, according to German publication Handelsblatt, which cited a letter from Kyiv to Prague.

Czechia unveiled the international initiative earlier this year amid Ukraine's shell shortages caused largely by delays in U.S. assistance.

Through the initiative, Prague had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside Europe that could be bought and sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated to the initiative.

A small portion of the received shells have exploded prematurely during combat, leading to injuries and damage to artillery systems. Approximately 0.05% of nearly 35,000 artillery shells had this issue, with five out of every 10,000 breaking prematurely.

According to Ukrainian officials, the malfunctions were due to older detonators from World War II, resulting in "numerous explosions at a distance of 20 to 60 meters from the muzzle."

President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously expressed gratitude for Czech President Petr Pavel’s initiative and support. Czechia’s support for Ukraine has gone beyond artillery ammunition. The country was the first one to provide main battle tanks to Ukraine, in addition to helicopters, multiple rocket launchers, armored vehicles, and more.

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The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova