The Czech initiative to supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine has encountered a significant funding shortfall this year, Reuters reports, citing an unnamed senior NATO military official. Meanwhile, €16 billion worth of ammunition is globally available.
Plans for 2026: €5 billion, but only €1.4 billion raised
According to plans for the current year, the initiative aimed to purchase artillery shells worldwide for €5 billion. So far, only around €1.4 billion has been collected.
The program is funded by foreign donors, including Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In previous years, Czechia also contributed.
Soviet-caliber ammunition: 2025 success
In December, a NATO mission reported that in 2025, the initiative procured about 1.8 million artillery shells. This represented 43% of all ammunition delivered to Ukraine and approximately 70% of the need for Soviet-caliber shells.
According to the NATO official, ammunition worth around €16 billion is currently available on the global market. Last year, about $4.8 billion was spent on the program, with Czechia contributing $145.15 million.
