Czechia prepares first 300,000 shells for delivery to Ukraine
Photo: From open sources
Czechia has received 300,000 shells for Ukraine to provide a vital "fresh breath for several months" on the front line, The Guardian reports.
Foreign minister Jan Lypavský says first delivers will come in June.
"We have a direct experience with 40 years of being a satellite of Moscow, being a country which was invaded in 1968 by Russian tanks to curb the Prague Spring."
The minister added that Prague could not stand by and watch Ukraine being left without help.
"No one wants to return to those Soviet times, and I must say that the population is very sensitive to this."
Prague is ready to supply thousands of additional artillery shells to Ukraine, just weeks after it announced an initiative to obtain much-needed supplies from outside the EU.
During the Munich Security Conference on February 17, Czech President Petr Pavel said that his country had identified 500,000 155 mm and 300,000 122 mm rounds that could be delivered within weeks if the money was available.
Pavel said that 800,000 artillery rounds purchased from third countries could be delivered to Ukraine within a few weeks.
