Ukraine Has Received 400,000 Shells Through Czech-Led Ammunition Initiative

Ukraine has received 400,000 large-caliber shells from the Czech Republic under a new round of the so-called Czech initiative, Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová said, according to Novinky.

Speaking on Czech Television, Černochová confirmed that Prague allocated 1 billion crowns (€45 million) from its budget to support the ammunition supply program.

“I will not provide further details, as military intelligence is involved and certain information cannot be disclosed publicly,” the Minister shared.

Černochová added that the program is now funded through the fall. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský earlier announced this at a NATO summit in Brussels.

“First of all, regarding the Czech initiative, it is important that we were able to secure funding, and now this initiative has enough resources to provide Ukraine with ammunition every month until September,” he said at the time.

According to him, the initiative received sufficient funding thanks to contributions from Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

Czech initiative

During 2024, the Czech-led initiative, backed by international partners, supplied Ukraine with around 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition. The program focuses on purchasing shells of calibers larger than 100 mm, including significant deliveries of 155 mm and 152 mm rounds, totaling approximately 500,000 shells.

At the end of March, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala noted that the initiative could deliver at least as many shells in 2025 as it did the previous year.

“The ‘Czech initiative’ for the supply of ammunition to Ukraine could deliver at least as many shells in 2025 as last year,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated after a Paris summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders.

In February 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that Prague had identified approximately 800,000 rounds available for purchase on third-country markets — roughly 500,000 shells of 155 mm caliber and 300,000 of 122 mm caliber.

Czech officials later said additional stocks had been located but withheld further details for security reasons.