Czech International Initiative to Supply Ammunition to Ukraine Ends
A Czech-led international effort to buy ammunition for Ukraine is in danger of being cut short. Opposition party leader Andrej Babiš, who is expected to return to policies in the elections later this year, promised to shut down the project, the Financial Times reports.
Populist party ANO leads polls public opinions before the October elections, also promised to suspend the ammunition initiative if she returned to power.
We must stop the current practice.
"said ANO deputy leader Karel Havlíček, referring to an initiative led by the Czech government, not NATO.
Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO commander, announced last year that his government was coordinating purchases of artillery shells on international markets to help replenish Ukraine's dwindling ammunition stockpiles and counter Russia.
But Havlicek expressed doubts about the quality and price of the shells.
We have information from the military sector that the quality of the shells is not ideal and that it is simply extremely expensive.
- he said.
By contrast, Ukrainian officials and soldiers say the Czech initiative has helped plug a gap in ammunition as their forces came under pressure from a renewed Russian offensive last year. There were reports that a small number of shells were of poor quality and unusable, but Kyiv was generally satisfied with the supplies.
In any case, the project does not have much time left, since President Donald Trump is likely to try to end the hostilities in the near future. In this case, purchasing weapons becomes a waste of donor money, opposition politicians are sure.
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