The number of donors to the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine has halved — FT
The number of countries funding the Czech initiative to procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine has dropped from 18 to nine.
Czech President Petr Pavel stated this in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to him, the initiative remains active, but significantly fewer countries are now contributing financially.
“The initiative is still active, but the new challenge is that only about nine member states are making financial contributions,” Pavel said.
The Czech president emphasized that this program provided up to half of all large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine, so it will be difficult to quickly replace it with other mechanisms.
The Financial Times attributes the reduction in support to the changing political situation in the Czech Republic and criticism of the initiative by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who has previously opposed spending resources on weapons for Ukraine.
Despite this, according to the publication, Germany and some Northern European countries continue to support the mechanism.
Since 2024, more than 4 million artillery shells have been supplied to Ukraine through the Czech initiative.
