On May 28, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced that Ukraine would soon receive its first shipment of artillery shells through a Prague-led initiative. This delivery includes tens of thousands of 155mm shells, which are critical for the howitzers and heavy artillery used by Ukrainian forces.
The announcement followed a meeting in Prague with leaders from five European NATO states, including Polish President Andrzej Duda, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina. The main focus of the meeting was the Czech plan to procure up to 800,000 artillery shells from countries outside the European Union and provide them to Ukraine.
Fiala noted that 15 EU and NATO countries have collectively contributed over €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) to this initiative. Since the war began, Ukraine has received significant military aid, including 918 pieces of heavy equipment, nearly 21 million rounds of mid-caliber ammunition, and 1.7 million rounds of large-caliber ammunition and missiles.
The leaders issued a joint statement expressing their goal to ensure the donation of half a million rounds of artillery ammunition by the end of the year. They pledged to continue supporting Ukraine as long as necessary.
The discussions also covered accelerating the supply of air defense systems and enhancing defense industry cooperation. This meeting precedes the NATO foreign ministers’ summit in Prague, where further strategies to support Ukraine will be discussed.
Polish President Duda emphasized the critical need for ammunition at the front lines, noting that Russia is preparing another major offensive. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal echoed this urgency, calling for additional air defense systems and modern combat aircraft.
Fiala also addressed Ukraine’s right to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia, stating it is logical for a country defending itself to use all available means. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and other officials have supported this position, dismissing concerns that it would implicate the alliance in the conflict.
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