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Ukraine Closes In on 1.5M NATO Artillery Shell Boost


1 week ago 19
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Ukraine could be close to clinching around 1.5 million additional rounds of vital ammunition as the need for new shells haunts Kyiv's efforts to stop the advance of Russian forces in the east of the country.

The Czech Republic, one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, has identified approximately 700,000 new shells that could be funneled to Ukraine, in addition to the 800,000 rounds of artillery ammunition that Prague had pinpointed earlier this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ammunition has become an urgent need for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. Kyiv's fighters are thought to be firing around a fifth of the ammunition Russia's troops are able to use up. Ukrainian officials and Western analysts have said Ukraine's operations have been restrained by shell famine as Russian forces inch westward.

The Czech Republic has been at the forefront of efforts to replenish Ukraine's scarce ammunition stocks. Czech President Petr Pavel had said in February that his government had located 800,000 shells, which could be bought with the backing of numerous countries. Of these shells, around 500,000 would be 155mm—the in-demand NATO standard—and around 300,000 would be 122mm rounds, Pavel said.

Empty 155mm shell Ukraine
A Ukrainian artilleryman throws an empty 155mm shell tube as Ukrainian soldiers fire a M777 howitzer towards Russian positions on the frontline of eastern Ukraine, on November 23, 2022. Ukraine could be close to clinching... Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on March 8 that Prague had drummed up "enough money to buy the first batch of 300,000 artillery shells."

"However, our goal is to deliver much more!" Fiala said.

Together with the further 700,000 shells the Czech Republic has tracked down, as per The Journal, Prague would be spearheading efforts to send Ukraine an additional 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition.

Newsweek has reached out to the Czech Defense Ministry for comment via email.

NATO allies have scrambled to find ways to keep Kyiv's artillery guns firing, but it has proved a tall order to provide the shells featuring very high up on Ukraine's wish list. Earlier this month, CNN reported that Moscow will likely soon produce three times the amount of artillery munitions that the U.S. and Europe can manufacture. "What we are in now is a production war," a senior NATO official told the network.

The European Union has conceded it will only deliver half of the one million rounds it had committed to send to Ukraine by this month. Earlier this week, the bloc said it will deliver approximately 500,000 shells to Ukraine by the end of March, and one million by the end of the year.

Approximately $3.3 billion would be needed to secure the 1.5 million shells, WSJ reported, citing Czech officials.

European countries backing Ukraine have moved to step up their military aid packages in lieu of guarantees over future support from Ukraine's single largest military aid supplier, the U.S. Greater emphasis is emerging on European military power and production, with no end in sight for the conflict in Ukraine.

A $60 billion aid package has languished in Congress for months. An equipment injection unveiled by the Pentagon earlier this month was described by the Defense Department as merely a stop-gap for Ukraine's urgent needs.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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