Czech Republic To Deliver Artillery Shells To Ukraine In Global Initiative

The Czech Republic has said it is on the verge of delivering thousands of extra artillery shells to Ukraine, just weeks after it announced an initiative to source the much-needed supplies from outside the EU.

- Lisa O'Carroll, Dan Sabbagh

The foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, said it had so far secured 300,000 shells and the ammunition would provide a vital "few months' breathing space" on the Ukraine frontline.

"We have a direct experience with 40 years of being a satellite of Moscow, being a country which was invaded in 1968 by Russian tanks to curb the Prague Spring," said Lipavský, adding that his country could not stand by and watch Ukraine go unaided.

"No one really wants to bring back those [Soviet] times, and I have to say that the population is very sensitive to that." Ukraine has said it was falling short of ammunition against Russia: the EU has said it only expected to meet 52% of the target set last year to deliver im shells by March, and a bill to fund US military aid to Kyiv has been held up in Congress.

Russia is outshelling Ukraine by a five-to-one ratio and Kyiv's forces are very gradually being pushed back on the battlefield. Last month Avdiivka, a frontline town, fell to the Russians after a four-month battle.

Petr Pavel, the Czech president, announced the initiative at the Munich security conference in February, saying Prague had located 800,000 shells that could be obtained with funding from a consortium of western countries.