Germany Will Provide 180,000 Artillery Bullets For Ukraine Through Czech Republic Initiative

Ukrainian soldiers operate M777's Howitzer artillery from the US on the battlefield. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Germany's Ministry of Defense said it would provide around 180,000 artillery shells as part of a contribution to the Czech Republic's initiative to buy amnusi for Ukraine, with a value of around 576 million euros.

The most pressing need for Ukraine two years after Russia's massive invasion was artillery ammunition, which was running low as the parties used heavy cannon fire to maintain a position largely static and embedded along the 1,000 km (620 miles) front line.

Last month, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced aid packages of 478 million euros for Ukraine, excluding support for Czech ammunition initiatives.

"The total value of both measures of support is more than one billion euros," a ministry spokesman told Reuters.

It is known, more and more countries are participating in the Czech initiative to get hundreds of thousands of bullets from outside Europe for Ukraine.

The German government, the ministry said, would account for about 40 percent of the initiative.

As previously reported, Ukraine has the potential to obtain more than one million artillery shells, along with allied plans to buy them in the world market and send them to Kyiv to deal with the Russian invasion.

It was based on the initiative of the Czech Republic. The Allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including Germany and Canada, have pledged funds to the Czech Republic, after failing to produce enough ammunition in Europe.

The supply of 800,000 shells offered by Czech President Petr Pavel could increase to 1.5 million after more potential supply was identified.

Ukrainian troops "are warning about ammunition at this time" and its allies "cannot wait until European companies are ready," President Pavel said, quoted by The National News.

"That's why we're trying to get ammunition wherever we are, to send it to Ukraine as quickly as possible, while increasing our own capacity," he explained.

Ukraine says it needs more artillery to counter Russia's larger arsenal and fight an invasion that has entered its third year.

The bullets in the Czech'shopping range' included 155mm artillery used by NATO forces and the Soviet-era 122mm ammunition.