- Category
- Latest news
2 Million Shells in a Year Czech Initiative Speeds Up Ukraine’s Artillery Pipeline
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Ukraine has received about 4.4 million rounds of large-caliber ammunition and other arms under the “Czech initiative,” the country’s President Petr Pavel said in an interview, according to Odkryto.cz on February 16.
Pavel stated that the initiative, backed by at least 15 donor countries, had provided more than half of the large-caliber ammunition Ukraine received in the period he described.
And that nearly 2 million rounds were delivered in the past year alone.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
Addressing domestic criticism about transparency, Pavel said there was no evidence of corruption in the program and that major donors had been invited to place auditors alongside Czech experts to oversee how funds were spent.
He said “attempts” at corruption could occur wherever large sums moved, but said the initiative itself had not been responsible for “any major wrongdoing.”
The initiative has faced questions about its future funding after a NATO official told Reuters that donors had committed about $1.7 billion out of about $5.9 billion needed to sustain procurement on global markets, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said Czechia would keep coordinating the effort but stop using Czech public funds for it.
Earlier, it was reported that Czech officials said Ukraine had already received over one million large-caliber artillery rounds through the Czech-led procurement initiative, with further deliveries planned.
-457ad7ae19a951ebdca94e9b6bf6309d.png)
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
