Czech Republic firmly affirms supplying artillery shells to Ukraine

Czech President Petr Pavel said his country had secured funding to buy promised artillery shells for Ukraine from outside the EU, as the fate of Washington's military aid package remained "hanging" in the US Congress.

“So far, we have collected enough money to buy all the artillery shells, which is 800,000,” Pavel told Czech media on March 7, during a visit to the Central Bohemia region.

However, other Czech officials such as Prime Minister Petr Fiala later clarified President Pavel's statement.

“Czech Plan”

Analysts have pointed out the strategic importance for Ukraine of increasing artillery ammunition supplies to continue military operations effectively. There is a noticeable gap between current supply levels and operational requirements on the ground.

According to Army Recognition's calculations, the Ukrainian Army needs 75,000-90,000 artillery shells per month for defensive operations and 200,000-250,000 for major offensive operations.

Last year, the EU promised to deliver 1 million artillery shells to Kiev by the end of March. As the deadline approaches, it seems unlikely that the promise will be fulfilled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the EU summit last month, spoke of this broken promise. “Of the 1 million shells that the European Union promised us, not 50%, but unfortunately only 30% have been delivered,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Ukraine needs 75,000–90,000 artillery shells per month for defensive operations and 200,000–250,000 for major offensive operations. Photo: Army Recognition

In this context, at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) held in Germany from February 16-18, Czech President Pavel stressed the need for innovative approaches and international cooperation, especially with NATO partners, to meet Ukraine’s equipment requirements. And thus the strategic initiative called the “Czech Plan” was born, with the goal of supplying 800,000 artillery shells to Ukraine.

According to Mr. Pavel, out of a total of 800,000 rounds of ammunition, there will be 500,000 rounds of 155 mm caliber and 300,000 rounds of 122 mm caliber, suitable for the weapon systems that NATO countries have provided to Ukraine.

Czechoslovakia was once one of the world's largest arms producers. Based on extensive relationships that its arms companies maintain to this day, the Czech Republic led the effort to supply firepower to the Ukrainian Army, in coordination with several other allies.

During a visit to Prague earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris supported the plan. Last week, Belgium and the Netherlands publicly backed the Czech Republic's plan. Other countries that are said to have expressed support include Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark.

Delivery schedule

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said the Baltic country is not directly contributing money to buy artillery shells in the plan, but is sending some ammunition from its own stockpiles to the front lines.

Czech President Pavel declined to comment on how much each country was contributing when speaking to reporters on March 7, but said the contributions were not the same, and that Norway had now joined in. The Financial Times reported that the entire shell purchase was estimated to be worth $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion).

“Now how fast this process can be accelerated depends on the skills of our companies and the Czech Ministry of Defense,” Pavel said.

Ukrainian artillery fires M777 howitzers, using NATO standard 155mm ammunition, towards Russian positions. Photo: Defense Post

Following Pavel’s announcement, Czech Prime Minister Fiala also commented. “I am very happy that we can cooperate with many partners around the world to provide the necessary assistance. I can guarantee that this year hundreds of thousands of artillery shells will be delivered,” Fiala was quoted by Czech media as saying on March 7.

“We have raised enough money to buy the first batch of 300,000 shells,” Fiala said in a March 8 X/Twitter post. “However, our goal is to deliver more!”

Czech National Security Adviser Tomas Pojar also clarified Mr Pavel’s words. “The president is probably talking about the first shipment; the initiative is not yet fully funded,” Pojar told the DenikN daily.

“We do not and have never had any target numbers, and we still record unmet requests from the Ukrainian side, as well as offers to supply ammunition on the world market,” Pojar was quoted as saying.

Reuters quoted Colonel Simon Wouda, head of the Dutch team participating in the “Czech Plan”, revealing details of the schedule for supplying artillery shells to Ukraine: “The first batch will be ready within four months, and that is a very conservative calculation. The second batch can definitely be delivered in the second half of this year” .

Minh Duc (According to IntelliNews, Reuters, Politico EU)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/sec-khang-dinh-chac-nich-ve-cung-cap-dan-phao-cho-ukraine-a653245.html