President Volodymyr Zelensky and Czech President Petr Pavel discussed the ongoing defense cooperation between their countries, and Pavel confirmed his participation at the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.
The first batch of ammunition purchased by allied countries under the Czech-led initiative is expected to arrive in Ukraine in June, Czech President Petr Pavel told German broadcaster ARD on May 8.
A Slovak fundraising campaign for the Czech ammunition initiative has raised enough money to buy 2,692 shells for Ukraine, the Czech News Agency reported on May 8.
The new funds will primarily support military aid to Ukraine, with a smaller portion allocated to civilian financial aid, Norway's prime minister said on April 30.
Slovak activists collected 3.9 million euros ($4 million) for the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine in 12 days, after the Slovak government refused to participate.
Nearly 40,000 Slovaks contributed to the initiative, with an average donation worth 64 euros ($68), according to the "Ammunition for Ukraine" website.
More than half of the U.K.'s 900 million pound (over $1 billion) military fund for Ukraine remains unused due to bureaucratic delays in handing out contracts, the Guardian reports.
Specifically, the country is devoting 150 million euros ($160 million) to Germany's Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative. The Netherlands has also allocated 60 million euros ($64 million) for the purchase of short-range air defense hardware, for example, to combat Russian drones.
Slovak citizens have raised over $1.6 million in three days for the Czech ammunition initiative after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to contribute to the campaign to aid Ukraine.
Former senior Defense Ministry officials suspected of embezzling funding for military supplies have been formally accused and will appear in court, the State Bureau of Investigation announced on April 17.
Russia is firing shells at a ratio of around 10:1 to those of Ukraine and has 30 times more aircraft, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with PBS NewsHour published on April 16.
General Christopher Cavoli said that Russian forces were firing five shells for every one shell that Ukraine fired, a disparity which he warned could increase to 10 to one in coming weeks.
"(Ukrainians) really depend on our help and we in turn depend on the fact that the Ukrainians are also fighting for the security of the whole of Europe, so we are in this together," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that Tallinn is considering joining the Czech-led initiative to buy critically-needed artillery shells for Ukraine, Czech media outlet Ceske Noviny reported.
In March 2024, Sweden became NATO’s 32nd member state after a lengthy application process triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Joining the alliance comes at arguably the most turbulent time in European security since the end of the Cold War, with Russia scaling up its military industrial
The Czech-led initiative to secure critically-needed artillery shells for Ukraine’s armed forces still lacks the funds needed to purchase them, Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on March 29.
The transport of artillery shells for Ukraine secured through the Czech-led initiative is already "being organized," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on March 29, according to Wnp.pl media outlet.
A Czech-led initiative had concluded contracts for 1 million artillery shells for Ukraine, with shipments expected already in April, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on March 28, citing undisclosed sources.
"The deliberations are ongoing, and they take place within the fighter jet coalition," Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent in Stockholm on March 28.
The U.S. is negotiating to increase purchases of explosives from Turkey to boost the production of artillery shells amid allies' efforts to provide Ukraine with ammunition, Bloomberg reported on March 27, citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter.
Germany will hand over 10,000 artillery rounds from its own military stocks to Ukraine in the next coming days, German General Christian Freuding said in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) published on March 27.
Poland has decided to double its donation to the Czech-led initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in Riga on March 27, without providing a specific figure.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told journalists that Slovenia will join Czechia's initiative to supply artillery shells for Ukraine, Radio Prague International reported on March 26.
"We can do much more than the initially announced number," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told Bloomberg, saying that the number may be as high as 1.5 million.
The Icelandic government announced on March 25 that they will spend two million euros on the project. Iceland also said they will support the purchase of equipment for servicewomen in the Ukrainian army.
The EU has delivered 500,000 of the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine and aims to deliver the total amount by the end of the year, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in his blog on March 25.
A large amount of ammunition will be sent to Ukraine "in the near future" within the Czech-led initiative to provide Kyiv with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on March 22.
"The package includes recoilless anti-tank guns, explosives, various types of artillery ammunition, gas masks, sniper equipment, smaller caliber ammunition, and more," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.
Lithuania had pledged 35 million euros (around $38 million) for the Czech initiative to buy 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on March 20.
Over the past few days, Germany, Belgium, and Finland announced aid packages for Ukraine totaling over 1 billion euros, a critical boost to Kyiv's military from Europe as the U.S. continues to squabble over and delay a $60 billion package of its own. While the latest assistance pledged is
Canada will commit nearly $30 million to the Czech Republic's initiative to provide Ukraine with ammunition, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced on March 19 at a press conference in Ottawa.
Key developments on March 19: * Germany announces aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million * Anti-Kremlin militia claims fighting ongoing in Belgorod Oblast * Gunvor: Russia has lost 600,000 barrels of daily oil-refining capacity due to drone attacks * Shmyhal: Ukraine hopes to get enough shells by April * Borrell proposes using 90%
