The Czech Republic quietly collects shells for Ukraine, but does not bother the USA/Collage 24 Channel The Czech Republic purchased about 800 thousand artillery shells from various suppliers around the world for Ukraine. In particular, she found another 700 thousand that can be purchased additionally. It is reported that we are talking about 300 thousand Soviet-style shells and about 500 thousand Western-made shells. As the Czech government notes, more shells will be available as funds become available. Czech officials say supplies that could soon be arriving in Ukraine will be due to shortages of ammunition and troops that are forcing the Ukrainian army to retreat in some areas. Moreover, the intelligence services of Western countries also wrote earlier about the depletion of Ukrainian forces, which now fire only two shells for every 10 shots fired by Russia. At the same time, Russia, on the contrary, is increasing domestic production and attracting allies such as North Korea, Iran and Belarus for supplies. Some military analysts say Ukraine needs up to 200 thousands of shells of various calibers every month to gain an advantage. Supplies organized by the Czech Republic can help soldiers advance further and defend. Unlike the United States, France or Germany, which mainly focused on increasing domestic production to supply to Ukraine , Czech officials said their initiative was focused on purchasing existing weapons. The Czechs have reportedly begun to “quietly” travel around the world, concluding sales agreements and negotiating export licenses with dozens of producing countries. In particular, Czech officials said the country's past as a former Soviet satellite was an unexpected advantage. This has given the country both a significant arms industry with global clients and good relations with many countries in the Global South with large stockpiles of Soviet-era weapons and the ability to produce more. Officials have not commented , where the shells come from, but the suppliers are said to include some Russian allies. But according to Western officials, similar requests from the United States and Western European countries to potential suppliers in Africa, Asia and Latin America were rejected. Moreover, official representatives of the Alliance and the EU publicly supported the Czech initiative. Germany has so far pledged more than 500 million euros, which is by far the largest commitment.Stabilizing the front and restoring the advantage
Confidentiality is key< /h2>
Czech Special Representative for Ukraine Tomas Kopecny argues that the Czech approach was to act as a mediator who helped negotiate the agreement.
Prague, he said, approached countries that had either production capacity or compatible ammunition in stock, and connected them with a Western country that would pay for shipping.
The Czech Republic then organizes logistics, sending supplies either across its own borders or through third countries, hiding any direct connection between the country of origin and Ukraine, so as not to expose the supplier to the wrath of Moscow.
Confidentiality is key here: we talk and will talk to anyone, regardless of their allegiance or political position – with very few exceptions, such as North Korea, says Czech government national security adviser Tomas Pojar.
The country's deputy defense minister, Jan Gires, is convinced that Prague's efforts have exposed a discrepancy between some governments' friendly attitude toward Russia publicly and their openness to doing business with Ukraine's allies privately.
“If you come with a lot of money, they are interested, and the Czech Republic is considered neutral compared to the US, which is often polarizing,” said Jakub Janda, head of the Center for European Security Policy Values, a think tank in Prague.
A matter of life or death for Ukrainians
While large Western states such as the United States discussed the dangers of sending new types of weapons to Ukraine for fear of provoking Moscow, the Czech Republic began early to supply main battle tanks, missile launchers and large artillery installations to Kiev.
By the way, the launch vehicle for the missiles that sank the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet “Moscow” was delivered by the Czech Republic.
It was a shame to watch for the inaction of countries that are much richer and more powerful, when it was a matter of life or death for Ukrainians, and therefore for us, says Kopechny.
Lange said that The success of the Czech initiative was a lesson for larger NATO members, who are focused on ramping up their own weapons production, a slow process that is now limiting supplies to Ukraine.
