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.
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 Czech Republic has raised the necessary amount of money to purchase 800,000 pieces of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, which is to be delivered in the coming weeks, Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports, citing Czech President Petr Pavel.
“As of this morning, we have collected the total amount for the purchase of all ammunition, that is, 800,000 pieces,” Pavel told reporters during a visit to the Central Bohemian region.
According to him, the next step will be to sign a memorandum between the Czech government and the 18 countries that have joined the initiative.
“Then, the Czech side will send information to all the supplier countries about the schedule and how we will act,” the Czech president said.
He refused to name the amounts received from individual countries and added that Norway has contributed the required amount.
“Now it all depends on the ability of our companies and the Ministry of Defense to speed up the whole process (of transferring ammunition – IF-U),” Pavel added.
On February 17, it was reported that the Czech Republic is looking for ammunition and weapons to supply Ukraine as soon as possible around the world, in particular, there is a possibility of supplying 500,000 155 mm and 300,000 122 mm shells from third countries within weeks if the necessary funding is received.
“Nova Poshta, the leader in express delivery in Ukraine, has opened a Nova Post post office in Brno, the third branch of the network in the Czech Republic, the company’s press service said on Friday.
“This is just the beginning of our development. Next year, we plan to open branches in 4 more Czech cities,” said Vladimir Sterenchuk, CEO of Nova Post in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
According to him, in 2024, Nova Post branches will appear in Pilsen, Ostrava, Liberec and Český Budějovice.
At the new Brno branch, customers can send and receive documents and parcels weighing up to 30 kg from Ukraine. Delivery time to Ukraine is 5 days or more.
As reported, Nova Post entered the Czech market in June and opened two branches in Prague at once – a cargo branch weighing up to 1,000 kg and a postal branch weighing up to 30 kg, and launched a courier delivery service weighing up to 1,000 kg. In 6 months, the company delivered 30 thousand items.
In mid-November, Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, co-owner of Nova Poshta, announced that Nova Post plans to enter the markets of Italy, France, and Austria by the end of this year.
As of the beginning of November, Nova Poshta’s network in Ukraine included nearly 11,000 branches and 14.6,000 post offices.
The group of companies includes Ukrainian and foreign companies, including Nova Poshta, NP Logistic, NovaPay payment system and Nova Poshta Global.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis accepted copies of credentials from newly appointed Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ukraine Radek Pech.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Perebyinis highly appreciated the intensification of the political and sectoral dialogue between Ukraine and the Czech Republic, and also expressed gratitude for the Czech Republic’s continued support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The Deputy Minister thanked the Czech side for its active participation in promoting Ukraine’s foreign policy initiatives, in particular the implementation of the Peace Formula provisions, support for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the creation of legal mechanisms for bringing to justice those responsible for Russian war crimes and further strengthening of sanctions pressure on the aggressor country.
Particular attention was paid to issues of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
This was discussed at a meeting of the Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine Hanna Zamazieieva with representatives of the Czech RSJ Investments Foundation and their partner company.
The Czech partners assured of their desire to help Ukraine and Ukrainian communities become less energy dependent through bioenergy projects.
The Czech Fund is considering installing biomass boilers in Ukraine. The scale of the plans is impressive: the total capacity of the boiler houses is 80 MW, and the amount of investment is more than €12 million. The ultimate goal is to ensure uninterrupted heat supply in Ukrainian hospitals and other institutions.
“Such projects as alternative fuel boiler houses are one of the most relevant solutions for Ukrainian communities. It is an opportunity to provide heat, first of all, to critical infrastructure facilities, even during energy challenges,” emphasized Hanna Zamazeyeva.
The Chairman presented the significant potential of Ukrainian bioenergy, the legislative framework and the initiatives that the Agency’s team is working on to stimulate investment in this area.
The parties went through all the obstacles faced by market participants and discussed various ways to overcome them.
As a result of the meeting, the participants agreed to consolidate efforts to develop heat production from alternative fuels and the cultivation of energy crops.
