Czech Republic Pushes for Global Ammunition Support for Ukraine

The Czech Republic is seeking global contributions for ammunition supplies to support Ukraine against Russia. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky emphasized the need for NATO to send a strong, unified message to Russia, aiming to solidify long-term military aid strategies ahead of the July alliance summit.

The Czech Republic will at some point seek more contributions to its initiative to source ammunition supplies for Ukraine from around the world, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Friday, adding that NATO needed to send Russia a strong message.

Prague said this week that it had contributions of more than 1.6 billion euros and that could cover half a million shells this year for Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion. Lipavsky was hosting other foreign ministers from NATO on Friday for an informal meeting where they will discuss ways to put military aid for Ukraine on a more solid long-term footing and hammer out details before the alliance's July summit.

"I fully agree with (NATO Secretary General Jens) Stoltenberg calling for sustainability and definitely our initiative fits into that," he said. He said NATO needed a unified strategy in its support for Ukraine, not "ad-hoc solutions".

"We need to send a strong message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that his calculation on imperialism will not work," he said.