Czech Republic-led Initiative Could Supply One Million Artillery Shells to Ukraine.

A Czech Republic-led initiative has successfully secured contracts for the delivery of one million artillery shells to Ukraine, with deliveries scheduled to begin in April, as reported by Corriere della Sera on March 28, citing anonymous sources. The authenticity of this report remains unconfirmed as Prague has made no official announcement.
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A Czech Republic-led initiative has successfully secured contracts for the delivery of one million artillery shells to Ukraine. (Picture source: Ukrainian MoD)

In February, Czech President Petr Pavel indicated that the country had identified potential supplies of 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside of Europe, pending the allocation of necessary funds for their purchase and delivery to Ukraine. The initiative has garnered significant attention, and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, in a recent statement to Bloomberg, suggested that the effort could exceed its original goal, potentially providing up to 1.5 million shells, as informed by Army Recognition.

Moreover, Corriere della Sera revealed that Czech authorities had identified an additional 200,000 shells for purchase, though the source countries of these munitions remain unspecified.

The total cost of these contracts is estimated at around 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion), with support from several nations including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Poland, and France, among others. However, only a few have disclosed the extent of their financial contributions.

There has been some confusion about the progress of the initiative previously. On March 7, President Pavel announced that funding for 800,000 shells had been fully collected. This statement was later clarified by other officials who stated that financing for only 300,000 shells had been secured, with ongoing efforts to secure additional funds.

Ukrainian forces are currently firing between 6,000 and 8,000 155 mm artillery shells each day. With one million shells supplied to Ukraine through the Czech-led initiative, this represents approximately 125 to 166 days of ammunition, based on the lower and upper range of the daily number of shells fired. This estimate highlights the significance of this delivery in supporting Ukraine's war effort against Russia.

The ammunition shortage in Ukraine has been severe in recent months, underscored by the loss of the strategic city of Avdiivka in February. To date, the EU has delivered 500,000 shells to Ukraine, fulfilling only half of its promise, with a commitment to provide the rest by the end of 2024.

While the U.S. has included artillery shells in its latest $300 million defense package for Ukraine, further assistance from Washington faces delays due to a $60 billion aid bill currently stalled in Congress.