Latvia to join Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine

The Republic of Latvia will join the Czech Republic's initiative to purchase shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The ammunition will be sourced outside the European Union and then delivered to Ukraine.

Latvia's accession to the Czech initiative was announced by the country's Defense Minister Andris Spruds on X (Twitter). He called this alliance the most important opportunity to defeat Russia.

"Latvia will join the Czech initiative proposed by Czech President Petr Pavel to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine. This is the most important opportunity to defeat Russia, and we must do everything possible to support Ukraine. Together to victory!" the minister wrote.

The day before, France joined the Czech initiative. This was stated by the country's leader Emmanuel Macron. According to him, given the needs of Ukraine, European countries should go beyond what they have and look for resources in third countries to meet the short-term needs of the Armed Forces.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

At the opening of the Munich Security Conference, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had found 800,000 pieces of artillery ammunition abroad that it could hand over to Ukraine. It is about half a million 155-mm shells and another 300,000 122-mm shells.

Canada is ready to pay for the delivery of the shells that the Czech Republic has found for Ukraine. The government may allocate about $30 million to implement the plan to deliver ammunition to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The European Union does not have time to supply Ukraine with the promised one million rounds of ammunition by March 2024. Therefore, the possibility of purchasing shells outside the bloc was discussed, as the situation at the front with the supply of shells is critical. However, France, Greece, and Cyprus were against it.

According to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the EU is not fulfilling its obligations to supply artillery shells to Ukraine not because member states lack capacity, but because they export shells to other countries.

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