Zelenskyy: This year Ukraine may receive 1.8 million shells under Czech initiative

In 2025, Ukraine may receive 1.8 million rounds of ammunition under the Czech initiative to purchase shells around the world. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint press conference with the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel.

"The Czech initiative is working brilliantly... Last year, you [the Czechs] helped us a lot with artillery shells. And we expect that this year the cooperation will be just as effective. We talked about 1.8 million shells this year – this is a very strong decision," Zelenskyy said in Prague.

The head of state noted that a meeting of the Ukrainian authorities with Czech defense companies is scheduled for May 5: "We are still preparing specifics."

Instead, Pavel recalled that thanks to the Czech initiative, the ratio of artillery shells on the front between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was reduced to 1:2. The same figures were confirmed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi: previously, the gap in ammunition was 1 to 10 in favor of the occupiers. The military leader linked this to both military assistance and the destruction of Russian artillery systems.

• About 20 countries financially joined the Czech Republic's initiative, including Germany, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and others.

• On February 15, Czech President Pavel announced that the initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine would continue, and 1.6 million shells had been delivered over the past year.

• In 2025, Ukraine has already received 400,000 large-caliber shells under the Czech initiative.