Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast injured nine people and damaged residential infrastructure on June 18-19, according to local authorities. The strikes targeted 34 settlements with artillery and drones.
The country's opposition party, ANO, has threatened to suspend the munitions initiative if it wins parliamentary elections in October 2025.
The package includes additional artillery and shells via the Czech ammunition initiative as well as equipment for fighter jets and funds for expanded training, the Danish Defense Ministry announced.
Key developments on May 5: * Ahead of Putin's Victory Day Parade, Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow, Russian officials claim * Ukraine strikes Russian drone control center in Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff says * Special tribunal against Russian leadership may be launched in 2026, President's Office says * Czech Republic ready to train
"Russia should know that we are expecting three million artillery shells from our allies. Not only North Korea is capable of helping in the war, we have allies who are helping Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The initiative has significantly boosted Ukraine's artillery capabilities, improving the shell ratio from 1-to-10 in Russia's favor to 1-to-2, Czech President Petr Pavel said.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova reiterated that the initiative already supplied 1.5 million rounds of various calibers in 2024 and has enough funds to continue until this fall.
"I'm happy to see we already have two-thirds of my ammunition initiative together," Kaja Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, referring to an initiative to provide Ukraine with 2 million high-caliber rounds worth 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion).
Shelling in the city center killed a 62-year-old woman, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two other Kherson residents, a 48-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman, died in the hospital after being injured in drone attacks.
The initiative, backed by contributions from Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and other European countries, has significantly boosted Ukraine's artillery capabilities, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
The European Union plans to supply Ukraine with at least 2 million shells annually, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on March 19.
Germany has provided three Gepard anti-aircraft systems with 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 24 mine protection vehicles, and other defense aid to Ukraine in its latest round of delivery announced on March 17.
Seoul further warned that Pyongyang is likely preparing to send additional troops and arms to back Russia's war in Ukraine, confirming earlier warnings by the Ukrainian intelligence.
The upcoming aid package is expected to include a substantial supply of air defense munitions, along with Stinger missiles and artillery rounds, according to U.S. officials.
Russia's artillery advantage against Ukraine has dropped to 1.5 rounds per Ukrainian shell, down from a previous ratio of five to one, officials told Sky News.
The European Union has delivered 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, fulfilling the pledge it initially promised to deliver by the spring of 2024, the EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Kyiv Independent on the sidelines of her visit to Kyiv.
In comments to Interfax-Ukraine, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) also said Pyongyang had begun supplying Moscow with artillery systems last month.
South Korea did not provide artillery shells of its own production, nor did it make financial contributions to the purchase of shells from other countries under the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine from third countries.
Throughout 2024, the European Union has delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the one million initially promised, the European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Nov. 11.
An ammunition shortage has long been a cause for concern in Ukraine but has escalated this year.
"We are recording an increased supply of defense aid packages. The situation with artillery has improved," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff.
Seoul has not received such a request from the Ukrainian side, and the matter is not under consideration, a source in the Presidential Office told the South Korean news agency.
The fire broke out at 1:30 p.m. local time in a hydraulic press used for the three-dimensional molding of steel shell casings.
South Korea has hinted it could change its long-standing stance on not providing Ukraine directly with weapons in light of the dramatic escalation of North Korea's role in Russia's full-scale invasion. So far, Seoul has only provided humanitarian and non-lethal military aid to Kyiv, but on Oct. 22, a South
The "Ammunition for Ukraine" campaign has raised almost 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million) for the Czech artillery initiative after the Slovak government refused to participate.
According to the newspaper, around 3 million a year are being shipped from Pyongyang to Moscow, though a large number are believed to be faulty.
Ukraine has received more than one-third of the expected 500,000 rounds of 155-mm shells to be delivered under the Czech initiative by the end of the year, Ukraine's Ambassador to Czechia Vasyl Zvarych said in an interview with CTK news agency published on Oct. 3.
Capturing the major logistics hub of Pokrovsk is a key objective of Russia's ongoing offensive in Donetsk Oblast. The Kyiv Independent joined Ukrainian soldiers stationed in the sector as they are fending off constant Russian attacks.
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.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. POKROVSK DISTRICT, Donetsk Oblast – Marked by wide plumes of gray smoke on the horizon, the open fields stretching out southeast of the city of
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that Warsaw has not yet participated in the project due to "temporary formal obstacles."
Ukraine has received the 18 promised Bohdana self-propelled howitzers financed by Denmark, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced.
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