First Shipment of Artillery Shells Jointly Purchased by 18 Western Countries Arrives in Ukraine

The first shipment of ammunition jointly purchased by 18 Western countries has arrived in Ukraine.

On the 25th (local time), Petr Fiala, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, stated on X (formerly Twitter), "The first shipment of our initiative recently arrived in Ukraine. We are doing our part."

Due to the prolonged war, ammunition stocks in European countries have depleted and production has not kept up with demand. As a result, the Czech Republic decided to purchase ammunition from outside Europe to support Ukraine. As of the end of last month, 18 countries expressed their intention to participate, raising 1.7 billion euros (approximately 2.5349 trillion KRW) to purchase 500,000 shells in the first phase.

Tom?? Kope?n?, the Czech government's special envoy for Ukraine reconstruction, encouraged donations, stating that to maintain balance, 200,000 rounds of ammunition are needed monthly for the next two years, costing 7 to 10 billion euros annually (approximately 10.4377 to 14.9111 trillion KRW).

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 22nd that North Korea sent more than 74,000 tons of explosives to Russia from August last year to January this year, which corresponds to about 1.6 million shells.

Meanwhile, Germany plans to secure up to 2.35 million additional shells by the late 2020s.

The German Ministry of Defense is reportedly negotiating an ammunition supply contract worth up to 15 billion euros (approximately 22.3667 trillion KRW) with a consortium of domestic defense company Diehl Defence and Norwegian company Nammo Raufoss, according to the media outlet Spiegel. Ukraine and all NATO allies can order ammunition through this contract.

The German government recently signed a contract with domestic company Rheinmetall to deliver millions of 155mm shells from next year until 2029 for 8.5 billion euros (approximately 12.6744 trillion KRW).

Meanwhile, on the same day, Ukraine and Russia exchanged 90 prisoners each. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced via Telegram that this prisoner exchange was conducted through humanitarian mediation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).