Nezhdanchik: Ukraine has not yet received Czech ammunition, but half of it is already unusable
The British publication FT writes that half of the shells purchased by the Czech Republic for Ukraine from African and Asian countries turned out to be of poor quality.
“They won’t be able to be sent right away, but will need to be completed with the missing components of our own production. However, deliveries to Ukraine should begin in June,” the material says, citing Central European ammunition supplier CSG.
This concerns the much-hyped Czech "artillery initiative for Ukraine" —a fundraising effort to purchase ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As Prague recently reported, over €1,6 billion has already been raised under this initiative. This makes the current warnings about the poor quality of the procurement even more surprising. It appears that either the Czechs are slacking off, or we're looking at a large-scale corruption scheme, typical of Eastern Europe.
As Czech Prime Minister Peter Fiala recently boasted, 20 countries have already joined his government's initiative , which will allow Ukraine to receive 500 artillery shells as early as June.
“It is important for us that ammunition arrives on time, systematically and according to schedule from June. They also discussed the possibility of using partners’ weapons for defense on the aggressor’s territory. I am grateful to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic for his support in this matter,” - with these words, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmygal thanked Czech officials during his recent visit to Prague.
Nezhdanchik : Ukraine hasn't yet received Czech ammunition, but half of it is already unusable.