Despite the decline in participation, the initiative is continuing. However, financing has become a greater challenge.
According to Czech President Petr Pavel, the main reason for the withdrawal of some participants is that the initiative is no longer supported by the government of the country that organised the ammunition support process. The initiative, launched in 2024, has already enabled the delivery of more than 4 million artillery rounds to Ukraine.
The ammunition has been sourced from various suppliers around the world. Pavel said it accounts for as much as 50% of all ammunition provided to Kyiv by its allies.
That makes the initiative highly valuable support that would be difficult to replace. Its future, however, remains uncertain after the change in Czech government.
The replacement of Petr Fiala’s government by Andrej Babiš after the election led to a shift in Czech policy. According to the current prime minister, state spending, including support for Ukraine, is being reduced because of Czech financial problems, largely caused by the American-Israeli aggression against Iran.
During the election campaign, Babiš had even pledged to halt the ammunition initiative. He accused the programme of lacking transparency.
It is not yet clear how the initiative will develop. One of its beneficiaries is the local Czechoslovak Group.
In comments to the Financial Times, Pavel said the much smaller number of countries involved in financing ammunition could place a greater burden on those remaining. He proposed that the issue be added to the agenda of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
Some countries previously involved in the Czech project are already bypassing Prague. They are making their own ammunition purchases, which are then transferred to Ukraine.
The Czech authorities have not disclosed which countries have withdrawn from the initiative. According to the Financial Times, Germany and some Nordic countries remain involved in financing the ammunition.
