Czech President Petr Pavel announced today during a visit to the Central Bohemian Region that the necessary funds for the purchase of 800,000 units of artillery ammunition for Ukraine from countries outside the European Union have been gathered.

Another 18 countries will join the assistance initiated by the Czech Republic. Pavel stated that the ammunition should be in Ukraine in the coming weeks.

“We have gathered the total amount for the purchase of all ammunition, that is, those 800,000 units, by this morning,” the President announced today.

According to him, the next step should be taken by the Czech government, which will conclude a memorandum and establish mutual relations.

“From the Czech side, information will then be provided to all contributing states about the schedule and how we will proceed,” President Pavel stated.

President Pavel informed about the possibility of purchasing artillery grenades for Ukrainians in third countries at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February this year.

He stated that the Czech Republic had identified 500,000 units of artillery ammunition in standard NATO caliber and another 300,000 units in Soviet caliber in non-EU countries.

Financial Times reported that the purchase would cost $1.5 billion (about 35 billion CZK).

Bloomberg, citing its unnamed sources, reported today that the amount had been gathered.

Pavel did not want to mention the amounts from individual states today.

“It wouldn’t be fair to the states that contributed if we hadn’t discussed it with them,” he said.

According to him, Norway has now pledged the necessary amount.

“Now it will depend on the skill of our companies and the Ministry of Defence to speed up the whole process,” Pavel added.

Main Image: By European Parliament – https://www.flickr.com/photos/36612355@N08/53234961857/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138522611

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Photo By : Haim Zach / GPO

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