PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech Republic will donate tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition rounds for Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the most pressing need for Ukraine is artillery ammunition as the sides use heavy cannon fire to hold largely static, entrenched positions along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line.
The Czech-led donation effort has won over about 18 countries, with Germany pledging the highest contribution so far, 576 million euros for 180,000 artillery rounds.
Fiala said on CNN Prima News television on Wednesday night that the Czech contribution would be in the higher hundreds of millions of crowns, which equals low tens of millions of euros.
“This roughly corresponds to the share that a country of our size and prosperity should put in,” Fiala said.
The Czechs, through a team of government officials and private companies, have sought at least 800,000 large-calibre ammunition rounds from countries around the world, with first deliveries to Ukraine expected by June.
But Czech officials have said the number is not final, and there was more ammunition available globally if more funding is secured.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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