Iceland Commits €2 Million to Czech Initiative for Ammunition Purchase in Support of Ukraine

25 March, 2024 155mm artillery shells. Photo from open sources Iceland will join the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

The government of Iceland stated that it is planned to spend about EUR2 million on the project. In addition, the country invests in the purchase of equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "It is imperative that we continue to strongly support Ukraine, but in doing so, we contribute not only to the defense of the people of the country, but also to international law in a broader context, as well as to our own security interests," stated Foreign Minister Bjarni Benediktsson.

Iceland will also support the purchase of equipment specifically for women in the Ukrainian army. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the percentage of women in the army has increased significantly in recent years, especially after the Russian invasion. To meet the needs of servicewomen, it is proposed to provide uniforms, bulletproof vests, and medical and hygiene products worth about EUR500,000.

Ukraine expects that the first batches of ammunition under the Czech initiative will be delivered next month. In March 2024, Lithuania joined the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine and allocated a corresponding financial package to support this effort. Lithuania has thus become one of more than 15 countries to join this initiative, which will speed up the procurement and delivery of the shells to Ukraine.

A Ukrainian gunner carries a 122mm shell for the 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer at a position along the front line near Bakhmut on December 10, 2022.

Photo credits: Radio Svoboda

At the beginning of February 2024, the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, announced during a debate at the Munich Security Conference that the country's representatives had found about 1 million artillery shells for Ukraine.

The country's representatives managed to find about 500,000 155mm artillery shells and 300,000 122mm shells abroad.

Then the Czech Republic found another 700,000 shells for Ukraine.