800 thousand shells from the Czech Republic: will Ukraine be able to adapt them to existing launchers?

The Czech Republic found 800 thousand shells abroad for Ukraine – 500 thousand ammunition of 155 mm caliber and 300 thousand units of 122 mm caliber. Partners in Europe are looking for ways to finance to provide this assistance.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that 155 mm ammunition cannot be used , if they are not produced in the same country as the weapon from which they are fired. Will it be possible to adapt the shells to the existing launchers in Ukraine? Alexander Musienko, head of the Center for Military Legal Research, told Channel 24 .

Will it be possible to adapt the shells

Musienko explained that if the 155 mm caliber is certified and standardized by NATO, it can be used without technical limitations No. The weapon is designed and manufactured in accordance with NATO standards with all features.

When a projectile has such unification, it does not matter in which country it was produced – in Pakistan or Turkey. They are adapted for use on CAESAR self-propelled guns and other Western howitzers.

This is a matter of standardization. It is possible that not all productions are standardized as mentioned and therefore we cannot use them. Other restrictions are unknown,” Musienko emphasized.

Ukraine will also produce the 155 mm caliber in accordance with the standards, although our state is not a NATO country. Everything can be mastered.

In addition, the Czech Republic probably found the shells not in European countries, but in companies in the Republic of South Africa, Turkey or South Korea.

Why the news is extremely amazing

For several months Ukraine has been screaming about a shell famine. Europe was not ready for this and the military-industrial complex stood still. And suddenly, almost a million shells “fall from the sky.”

Even sometimes weapons are transferred secretly, and then the Czech Republic defiantly declared “We have found ammunition for Ukraine.” It is quite likely that this is a signal to Russia not to spread fake news like “The West has abandoned Kiev.” get some more tactical successes. In the situation with Avdeevka, for example, it was not the power and strength of the Russian troops that helped. It’s not a fact that they would have captured the city if we had all the necessary weapons at that moment.

Any delay is an encouragement to the army of the aggressor state, it is a provocation for them to carry out further actions, to go, throw huge forces, die, but get some results, because sometimes we do not have enough weapons, noted Alexander Musienko.

Therefore, such signals, in particular from Germany and France, are extremely important:

• Berlin within assistance package to Ukraine plans to supply 120,000 shells of 122 mm caliber;
• Paris is ready to supply our state with more than 3 thousand shells every month.

If ammunition arrives to the military at the front as quickly as possible, then the situation will be stabilized. The Ukrainian Armed Forces will repel numerous enemy attacks, inflicting extremely heavy losses, which will seriously bleed their army. As soon as we have the necessary weapons systems, the Russians will have no reason to rejoice.

Shells for Ukraine

• At the beginning of May 2023, the EU Council decided to provide assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 1 billion euros for joint purchases of ammunition and missiles.
• It was planned that European countries would provide Ukraine with a million shells by March 2024. However, the EU countries were unable to fully implement the plan.
• Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur also said that they plan to double the production of artillery ammunition in Europe in the near future to help Ukraine.
• As EU diplomacy head Josep Borrell promised, by the end of 2024 Ukraine will receive more than 1 million artillery shells from European countries.
• In addition, according to the European Commissioner for Finance Johannes Hahn, the EU will be able to produce up to 2 million artillery ammunition for Ukraine annually from 2025.