Shells to be sent to Ukraine in April under the Czech initiative

29 March, 2024 A batch of M795 155mm shells from the United States. October 2023. Photo credits: 86th Airlift Wing

The Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine outside of NATO has been completed and is now awaiting delivery. Corriere della Sera reported on this. The full amount has now been raised to purchase more than a million artillery shells, which Ukraine is to receive in April.

In total, more than 15 countries raised approximately EUR1.8 billion as part of the Czech initiative, which was urgently used to pay for artillery ammunition.

Transportation of 155mm shells. Photo from open sources

As previously reported, the country's representatives managed to find about 500,000 155-mm artillery shells and 300,000 122-mm shells abroad. Subsequently, the Czech Republic reported that it had found an additional 200,000 shells, but did not provide details on the caliber of the shells or other details.

To date, about 20 countries have joined the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells outside NATO and the EU, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Norway, as well as Canada, Sweden, Portugal, and Lithuania. In addition, European defense companies, such as Germany's Rheinmetall and the UK's BAE Systems, are expanding their production at a rapid pace.

155mm artillery shells. Photo credits: telegraph.co.uk

German defense giant Rheinmetall plans to produce more than a million artillery shells annually by 2027.

By the end of 2024, the company should produce 700,000 artillery shells. New production facilities in Germany, Ukraine, and Lithuania are expected to help the company reach the one million-unit mark. It should also be noted that countries such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway are also expanding and returning to artillery shell production.

Militarnyi previously reported that Denmark bought a bankrupt munitions factory to resume arms production amid the Russian-Ukrainian war.