Czech-Led Ammunition Deliveries to Ukraine Accelerate in 2025
A Czech initiative to procure and coordinate artillery ammunition shipments to Ukraine is gaining momentum this year, with deliveries and international contributions on the rise, the Czech Defence Ministry announced Thursday, The Gaze reports, citing Reuters.
The program—launched in response to Ukraine’s severe ammunition shortage last year—has become a key element of Prague’s support for Kyiv and a model of international cooperation.
By connecting NATO donor countries with global ammunition suppliers, the initiative has delivered 850,000 shells so far in 2025, including 320,000 NATO-standard 155mm artillery projectiles, according to Ales Vytecka, director of the Defence Ministry’s AMOS international cooperation agency.
This compares with 1.5 million total rounds shipped in all of 2024, including 500,000 of the 155mm caliber.
“The clear and undeniable proof of the satisfaction of our partners is the fact that in 2025, donors’ contributions have significantly risen,” Vytecka said, noting a 29% increase in financial support compared to the previous year.
While he did not disclose specific figures, he named countries such as Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark among the top contributors.
Czechia’s role has been primarily as a coordinator, using its longstanding arms trade connections to locate and purchase ammunition worldwide. The government allocated approximately €35 million last year to buy shells from domestic suppliers.
Despite its success, the programme has come under political scrutiny ahead of October’s elections. Andrej Babiš, head of the opposition ANO party, said this week that he would scrap the initiative if returned to power, calling it “overpriced” and “non-transparent.”
Vytecka rejected these claims, saying the programme operates with as much transparency as security considerations allow.
As The Gaze previously reported, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala appealed to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico not to impede the adoption of the 18th package of EU anti-Russian sanctions.