This afternoon, April 8, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, the British government’s website reports.
“On Ukraine, the Prime Minister and the President agreed on the importance of intensifying efforts to prevent Russia from winning its aggressive war against Ukraine. They discussed priorities for the coming months, including increasing the supply of ammunition, drones and air defense systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the statement said.
It is noted that the leaders are looking forward to the upcoming meeting of the European Political Community to be held in the UK and pledged to work together to hold a successful summit that will address a number of common European priorities, including the defense of Ukraine, the development of cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and joint efforts to combat illegal migration and organized crime.
The Czech Republic will contribute tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said.
According to Reuters, Fiala told CNN’s Prima News on Wednesday evening that the Czech contribution would be over a hundred million kroons, which equates to tens of millions of euros.
“This is roughly the share that a country of our size and prosperity should contribute,” Fiala said.
The Czechs, through a team of government officials and private companies, have requested at least 800,000 pieces of large-caliber ammunition from countries around the world, with the first deliveries to Ukraine expected by June.
But Czech officials have said that this figure is not final and that more ammunition will be delivered if more funding is secured.
The Czech-led initiative has attracted about 18 countries, with Germany pledging the largest contribution so far – €576 million for 180,000 artillery rounds.
The Netherlands is allocating more than 150 million euros for the purchase of air-to-ground ammunition for Ukrainian F-16 aircraft and more than 200 million euros for the purchase of drones.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the ammunition will be purchased directly from the industry. Defense Minister Keesa Ollongren announced this after yesterday’s meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defense.
In addition, the Netherlands is sending (out of the previously promised) F-16 fighter jets to Romania. The planes will be used in a training center for Ukrainian and Romanian pilots. This includes not only the aircraft themselves, but also all related spare parts and ammunition.
The Netherlands leads the Ramstein Air Force coalition along with Denmark and the United States. 18 Dutch F-16s have been made available for training in Romania. The remaining 24 Dutch F-16s are intended for delivery to Ukraine. Some of them are currently being prepared in coordination with coalition partners.
The Ministry of Defense also informed that the Netherlands is allocating more than 200 million euros for the purchase of drones. It is planned to purchase a significant number of ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) drones and transfer them to Ukraine, which will be done in coordination with other partners and the Ukrainian armed forces.
“These drones are already in use and have proven themselves on the battlefield,” said Minister Ollongren.
Prague has received preliminary approval to purchase an additional 200,000 shells in addition to the mandatory purchase of 300,000 artillery rounds for Ukraine, Czech News reports, citing Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
“…Petr Fiala said that in addition to the mandatory confirmed purchase of 300,000 units of artillery ammunition for Ukraine from third countries, the Czech initiative to search for ammunition has a promise of another 200,000 pieces,” the Czech News website said on Tuesday.
According to Fiala, 18 countries, including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland, have joined the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition from third countries. “I consider this a great success. This is yet another proof that the Czech Republic is a full-fledged active player in European security policy,” the Czech Prime Minister said.
Fiala also announced that over the past two years, the Czech Republic has delivered more than a million pieces of large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine.
As reported, at the Munich Security Conference, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the Czech Republic had found up to 800,000 NATO standard-caliber shells that could be sent to Ukraine in a few weeks if funding is found.
Last week, the Czech prime minister said that enough money had been raised to purchase the first batch of 300,000 artillery shells.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has announced the transfer of detonation systems and thousands of rounds of ammunition for anti-tank grenade launchers to Ukraine.
“Lithuania continues to provide unwavering military support to Ukraine. Today, the Lithuanian army delivered detonation systems and thousands of rounds of ammunition for anti-tank grenade launchers. Our commitment to supporting Ukraine is not just solidarity, it is an investment in the security of Europe,” the ministry said in a statement on social media platform X.
According to Radio Svoboda, these are RISE-1 remote detonation systems and ammunition for the Swedish Carl Gustaf hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher.
AMMUNITION, anti-tank grenade, detonation systems, LITHUANIA
Lithuania will send M577 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine in February, and a package of long-term military assistance worth 200 million euros has been approved, President Gitanas Nausėda said.
“At a meeting of the State Defense Council, we approved a package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 200 million euros. In January, we will send ammunition, generators, detonation systems to Ukraine again, and in February – M577 armored personnel carriers, we will train the Ukrainian military,” Nausėda said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Vilnius on Wednesday.
Lithuania will transfer to Ukraine in 2024 vehicles purchased in 2023, including trucks, pickups, ambulances, various trailers and forklifts, the republic’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. Unmanned aerial vehicles, antidrones, remote detonation systems, ammunition and magazines, warm clothing sets, and various winter equipment will also be transferred.
According to the ministry, most of the aid is aimed at the needs of the coalition for demining Ukraine, which is being formed by Lithuania, and will include the purchase of various demining equipment, forklifts, trucks, as well as ammunition and dry rations. This assistance will be delivered to Ukraine in 2024-2025.
By the end of this year, it is planned to train approximately 3,000 Ukrainian military personnel.
