Canada to Fund Purchase of Artillery Shells for Ukraine from Non-NATO Countries
The Government of Canada is close to providing funding for the purchase of artillery shells from countries outside the NATO bloc for Ukraine. This was reported by the CBC. The country is ready to support the initiative of the Czech Republic, which, at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, reported that it found more than 800,000 artillery shells in countries outside the NATO.
According to Czech President Petr Pavel, other countries should also join this initiative, since additional funding is needed for implementation.
155mm shells at a factory in Tarbes, France. Photo credits: Getty ImagesAccording to sources at the Ministry of Defense of Canada, the government is preparing to support a £30 million proposal for the purchase of these shells. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair confirmed the discussion with representatives of the Czech Republic on this issue, but noted that the details will be reported later.
"I've entered into the memorandum of understanding with one of our European allies, the Czech Republic, with respect to perhaps acquiring munitions that they currently have in their possession that will enable us to ... make them available more rapidly to Ukraine as we ramp up our own production," the minister said. It should be noted that some countries fear that Canada, due to funding for the purchase of artillery shells outside NATO, will not continue increasing the production of artillery ammunition on its territory in the future.
155mm artillery shells. Photo credits: Elbit SystemsToday, Canada produces about 5,000 artillery shells on a monthly basis, which are a licensed copy of the American M107 for use with M777 howitzers.
As Militarnyi reported, the Czech Republic found about 800,000 artillery shells of NATO and Soviet caliber, which could be sent to Ukraine in a few weeks.
According to the Czech president, representatives of the country managed to find abroad about 500,000 artillery shells of 155mm caliber and 300,000 shells of 122mm caliber.
Petr Pavel noted that the Czech Republic would appeal to partners from the USA, Germany, Sweden, and other countries who would be able to contribute financially to this effort.