The ammunition purchased under the Czech initiative is now arriving in Ukraine and will continue to do so, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told Radio Liberty on 13 June.
The idea for the initiative came about in February, when Ukrainian forces faced an acute shortage of ammunition due to the suspension of US military aid.
Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had found 500,000 155mm shells outside Europe and another 300,000 122mm shells that could be purchased and sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated for the initiative.
Several countries have joined the initiative, which could provide Kyiv with up to 1.5 million shells, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Poland, France, Denmark and Slovenia.
Slovak activists also raised more than €4 million for the initiative after the Slovak government, led by Robert Fico, refused to participate in military aid to Ukraine.
"This year, we will be able to purchase and continuously supply Ukraine with a lot of ammunition under the Czech initiative, which is supplied through various channels – currently more than a million shells," Lipavsky told Radio Liberty.
"Now we have the opportunity to conclude agreements and import ammunition from different countries, and then send it to Ukraine, allowing the country to defend itself against Russian aggression," Lipavsky added.
Earlier it was reported that the first batches of ammunition are expected to arrive in Ukraine in June.
Background. Meanwhile, it was reported that Slovenia secretly provided Ukraine with weapons during the delay in US aid.