Zelenskyy, Pavel discuss continued assistance, artillery shell deliveries; exchange new ideas
Presidents of Ukraine and the Czech Republic Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Petr Pavel discussed continued assistance from Prague, in particular within the framework of the initiative to supply artillery shells, and also exchanged new ideas that can strengthen Ukraine's defense "right now."
"We discussed the Czech initiative to supply artillery shells. There are also other ideas that will help strengthen Ukraine and our defense right now. We agreed that our teams will work everything out quickly," Zelenskyy said, following the conversation with the President of the Czech Republic.
Zelenskyy said "the Czech Republic has been very supportive of Ukraine and our people since the very beginning of this full-scale war. We appreciate all the assistance provided, and today we discussed its continuation."
The Ukrainian leader also briefed his Czech counterpart about Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and communities.
The Czech initiative, which has been implemented since April 2024, involves the purchase of shells in third countries and their delivery to Ukraine. The first batch of shells purchased in this way was delivered in June last year. According to plans previously announced by the Czech President, in 2025, the initiative is planned to provide Ukraine with at least 1.8 million shells.
In February 2025, Czech President Pavel stated that the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine in third countries made it possible to deliver at least 1.6 million units of ammunition.
In May, then-Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this year Ukraine would receive 400,000 artillery shells from the Czech Republic as part of a Czech initiative.