Artillery ammunition manufactured in India is being diverted to Ukraine "despite protests from Moscow," Reuters reported on Sept. 19, citing customs data and nearly a dozen Indian and European government and defense industry officials.
The strike destroyed both the storage infrastructure and tons of ammunition that Russian troops were stockpiling for use against Ukraine, Ukraine's Navy said.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that Warsaw has not yet participated in the project due to "temporary formal obstacles."
Ukraine already produces its own 155 mm artillery ammunition, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, newly appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine on strategic issues.
"In addition, of course, we use maneuvers with force, reserves, and fire. Thanks to the actions of our government, the president of Ukraine, the minister of defense, we managed to reduce the difference between the ammunition used by us and the enemy," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
The Prague-led ammunition initiative is delivering supplies to Ukraine on schedule, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Aug. 29.
The Scranton plant has upped its output of 155 mm shells from 24,000 rounds per month to 36,000, with the modernization elements likely to contribute to a further increase, factory officials said.
North Korea sent containers to Russia that could contain as many as more than 6 million artillery shells, Yonhap reported on Aug. 27, citing South Korea's military intelligence report.
The Norwegian government will provide Kyiv with its defense technology and finance the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells developed by the Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) in Ukraine, according to its Aug. 23 statement.
Warsaw ordered 50,000 155-millimeter shells from the South African company Denel Munition, a subsidiary of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, in which it holds a 51% stake.
"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," Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said.
"The 45th package is now in the process of being implemented, which includes, among other things, a significant amount of ammunition for Ukraine," former Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych said on July 25.
The Czech ammunition initiative secured financing for half a million shells for Ukraine and can gather more if it finds additional donors or finances, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent on July 23. Czechia unveiled the international initiative earlier this year amid Ukraine's
Prague is preparing to launch a new initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine in 2025, Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said in an interview with the Deník N newspaper on July 24.
"The intention is to start the ammunition production in Ukraine within 24 months," Rheinmetall said in a statement.
"Some ammunition of certain types, can be provided to Ukraine. This package will also be linked to an agreement with an ally country on compensation, similar to the previous package we sent," Bulgarian acting Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov said.
There are sufficient finances to supply Ukraine with 500,000 shells by the end of the year, though this number could go up to 800,000 "if more financing is secured," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
"It is very important to ensure that in all key directions, we have the means to inflict maximum losses on the enemy," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry returned to Ukrainian soldiers "a significant amount" of ammunition that had to be disposed before the start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, the ministry announced on July 16.
The governments of Ukraine and Czechia signed two agreements on joint arms production on July 16, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced after the meeting with Czech counterpart Petr Fiala.
The visit comes only days after Czech President Petr Pavel announced Ukraine would receive 50,000 shells under Prague's ammunition initiative in July, with the deliveries rising to 100,000 rounds monthly since September.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced on July 12 that the Czech Republic will send Ukraine 50,000 rounds of ammunition in July and August.
Ukraine's state-owned company, Ukrainian Defense Industry (Ukroboronprom), signed an agreement with the U.S. weapons manufacturer Northrop Grumman on ammunition production, the Presidential Office said on July 11.
The EU's promises to deliver 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine were not met due to "wishful thinking" and the fact that existing stocks may be "at least twice as modest as stated by high-ranking EU officials," RFE/RL Schemes investigative project reported on July 8.
Less than 48 hours after the United Kingdom's new Defense Secretary John Healey took his post, Healey met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Odesa and announced a new package of defense aid.
A total of 50,000 shells are the first batch of 180,000 rounds of ammunition financed by Germany, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Satellite imagery obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) shows at least two pockets of fire, consistent with local accounts of two drones attacking the field ammunition depot in the region's Olkhovatsky district overnight on June 25.
Key developments on June 25: * International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russia's Shoigu, Gerasimov * Czech PM confirms Ukraine received first batch of shells under Prague-led initiative * European Court of Human Rights finds Russia guilty of violating human rights in occupied Crimea * Ukraine brings back 90 POWs from Russian captivity
"The first shipment of ammunition from our initiative arrived in Ukraine some time ago. We are doing what it takes," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on 25 June.
New internal Russian trade data obtained by the Washington Post shows that Russia may have received 1.6 million artillery shells from North Korea over the course of six months.
Northrop's agreement is the first known deal of its kind between a U.S. defense company and a Ukrainian government for producing arms in Ukraine.
The European Union has accelerated its production of projectiles and will match Russia's production capacity in 2025, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with French news outlet La Tribune on June 14.
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