Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala avoided mentioning some of the details about the Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition during a meeting that involved his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, Aktualne reported on March 14, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Czechia.
Portugal joined the Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, pledging 100 million euros ($108.9 million) to the effort, the Portugal Defense Ministry announced on March 15.
Sweden joined the Czech-led initiative to supply Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, pledging 30 million euros ($32.6 million) to the cause, the Swedish embassy in Czechia announced on March 14.
Tomas Pojar, the Czech national security adviser, said that purchased ammunition could be sent to Ukraine as early as June, Euractiv reported.
The Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition received "non-binding commitments" for a further 200,000 shells, in addition to the confirmed purchase of 300,000 rounds, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on March 12, according to the Czech Press Agency (CTK).
Czech National Security Advisor Tomas Pojar argued Czech President Petr Pavel’s statement about finishing the funds' allocation for purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, Czech outlet Denik reported on March 8.
Luxembourg's Defense Minister Yuriko Backes also said that the defense ministry had recently delivered 6,000 155mm shells to Ukraine.
Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 7 that after Norway had joined the Czech-led allied initiative on purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, the required funds were collected, Czech outlet CT24 reported.
"Ukraine urgently needs large quantities of artillery ammunition to withstand the Russian war of aggression," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.
"Our partners on the other side of the world understand that Europe's security affects the security of the whole world, which is why I'm sorry that our Slovak colleagues don't share this perspective," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
Arms company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) plans to invest "hundreds of millions of euros" in Ukraine to boost its supply of ammunition and equipment, according to Bloomberg and Reuters on March 7.
Ukraine’s allies have nearly raised the required funding to buy 800,000 artillery shells through a Czech-led allied initiative, Bloomberg reported on March 6, citing a government official familiar with the matter.
Czech President Petr Pavel said that he is in favor of looking for new ways to support Ukraine, including potentially sending troops for "non-combat engagement," Czech media reported on March 5.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Prague on March 5 to meet Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala and discuss plans to purchase ammunition for Ukraine outside of Europe, among other topics, Czech Television reported.
Lithuania will contribute to the Czech-led allied initiative to supply Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds from outside of Europe, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte confirmed on March 4 after a phone call with her Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala.
As Kyiv faces critical ammunition shortages due to U.S. assistance being stalled in Congress, Czech President Petr Pavel said last month at the Munich Conference that Prague had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside Europe.
Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakusan traveled to Lviv to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Ihor Klymenko and sign a declaration on directions of cooperation between their departments, Klymenko said on March 1.
"It's not a topic because this idea is unacceptable for the vast majority of countries. No one in Europe is going to send troops to Ukraine," the Czech prime minister noted.
Belgium will allocate 200 million euros ($216 million) to the Czech-led initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine from outside the EU, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Feb. 28.
The Dutch Defense Ministry ordered nine DITA howitzers from Czech manufacturers for Ukraine, its press service reported on Feb. 27.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as leaders of Germany, the U.K., and other European NATO member states, have reportedly said they are not considering deploying their troops to Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the possibility of Western military presence in the country.
"We have identified at this point half a million rounds of 155 mm caliber and another 300,000 rounds of 122 mm caliber, which we will be able to deliver within weeks if we quickly find funding for that activity," Czech President Petr Pavel said at the Munich Security Conference.
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