President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a European tour tour, passing through London, Paris and Rome on Thursday, and yesterday, after a private audience with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, his plane landed in Berlin.
At his meetings with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who took office 10 days ago, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Ukrainian head of state discussed support for defense capabilities of his country against the Russian aggression that has been going on for over two and a half years.
On the issue of Ukraine's use of long-range missiles, Rutte, quoted by Reuters, said that this should be "decided by individual member states" of NATO. Macron, in turn, said that "work on military supplies to Ukraine continues", but without giving details.
At the same time, the day before yesterday, Ukraine received a boost in arms supplies to Kiev in another direction – Czech.
Then the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petar Fiala, said that his country's initiative to supply Ukraine with ammunition produced in countries outside the EU would meet the target of delivering half a million 155-millimeter projectiles by the end of this year , reported Reuters.
The initiative may be joined by countries willing to make donations, Fiala added in an interview with Czech news website Blesk, which the world agency cites.
One third of the plan has been completed
Ukraine's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Vasyl Zvarych, announced last week - on Thursday, October 3, that more than a third of the ammunition intended for Kyiv under the Czech initiative to supply the Ukrainian army with ammunition produced by countries outside the EU, have already been delivered to Ukraine, reported Ukrinform.
On the same day, the Czech arms manufacturer "Czechoslovak Group" (Czechoslovak Group) announced that it has signed with the Ukrainian company "Ukraine Bronetehnika" (Ukrainian Armor) cooperation agreement for the production of 155 mm projectiles, Reuters informs.
Zvarich noted that the Ukrainian servicemen need the projectiles of this caliber the most – 155 mm. "This has a positive effect on strengthening our defense capabilities," said the head of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Prague, quoted by Ukrinform.
The Czech Republic said at the end of June that the first shipment of ammunition under its initiative had arrived in Ukraine, Reuters reported at the time, citing a post by Prime Minister Fiala on the X social network. Prague has spearheaded efforts to buy ammunition for Kiev with funding from NATO allies to make up for shortages on the front lines in battles with Russia.
Two months later, at the end of August, the Czech Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that it would use part of the interest accrued on Russian assets frozen by the European Union to buy more large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine, informed Reuters.
Extending the Prague initiative
By the end of August 2024, fifteen countries had officially joined the Czech initiative.
Ukraine's ambassador in Prague Zvarych confirmed that Kiev is in talks with the Czech Ministry of Defense to expand the Czech initiative for the purchase by EU countries of ammunition produced by third countries – outside the European bloc, which are then supplied to the Ukrainian army.
Such expansion of the program means a deepening of international cooperation in support of Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Fiala pointed out to "Blesk" yesterday. He emphasized his country's commitment to stand firmly behind Kyiv in the context of the current escalation of geopolitical tensions.
Prague had planned to deliver a total of half a million shells, meaning that nearly two hundred thousand have been delivered so far, according to Zvarich's statement of "more than a third". The diplomat emphasized that there is no information about the problems with supplies to Kiev, as the German newspaper "Handelsblatt" wrote about.
Zvarich admitted that the information in this publication was an attempt to discredit the initiative, and emphasized that the Czech plan is indeed effective and has room for development. The ambassador expressed his hope that the deliveries will continue next year.
Stimulation of Ukrainian ammunition production
The Czech initiative also aims to become a tool for investment in the independent Ukrainian production of ammunition, the Ukrainian ambassador in Prague pointed out, quoted by Ukrinform.
"Ukraine has increased its capabilities, but we need financial resources to develop them and to have the ability to also produce smaller caliber ammunition," he said, adding that Kiev is also discussing this issue with the Czech ministry of defense.
Furthermore, Zvarich stressed that Ukraine should not be restricted in using the delivered weapons to attack military targets in Russia. According to him, this is in the interest of all free countries, including the United States. He is convinced that the removal of these restrictions is a matter of time, because everyone understands that the war will continue anyway, and Putin will have the opportunity to escalate the conflict.
"We must do everything possible to limit Russia's military potential. Every day we are hit by missiles and drones. We know which parts of Russia they come from. "We are aware of the specific locations of air bases, warehouses and organizational centers," the ambassador said, explaining that unlike Russia, in this way, Ukraine will avoid civilian casualties.
"I am sure that it is also in the interest of the United States that the war should end as soon as possible. However, it must be terminated in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, which means that Russia must be forced to agree to a just and lasting peace on the terms not of Putin, but of the free world, of democratic countries. I want to emphasize that the only thing that can stop Putin is our unity, strength and determination," Zvarich said.