Czechs donate artillery ammo to Ukraine in show of solidarity
Czech deputy defence minister Daniel Blažkovec and Lt Gen Valery Zalužnyj, C-in-C of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (in foreground of picture). (Photo: Czech MoD)
The Czech Republic is donating artillery ammunition to invasion-threatened Ukraine.
A total of 4,006 rounds of 152mm ammunition will be dispatched to Ukraine, and the Czech Republic also pledged to offer medical treatment support for wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the event of a Russian invasion.
Ukraine ordered 26 self-propelled Dana M2 152mm howitzers from the Czech Republic in November 2020. It also inherited 2S19 Msta-S, 2A65 Msta-B and 2S3 Akatsiya 152mm self-propelled artillery pieces when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
The ammunition donation agreement was signed in Prague on 1 February by Czech deputy defence minister Daniel Blažkovec and Lt Gen Valery Zalužnyj, C-in-C of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In talks with Czech defence officials, Zalužnyj discussed defence cooperation ‘and the possibilities of further support in this tense situation’ with more than 100,000 Russian troops massed at the Ukrainian border, the Czech MoD added.
Jan Havránek, deputy minister for defence policy and strategy at the Czech MoD, confirmed: ‘If necessary, we are ready to negotiate with our partners about other forms of support in this difficult situation.’
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
New teams form to compete for British Army Land Rover replacement
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme Light Mobility Vehicle requirement is designed to replace the British Army’s ageing fleet of Land Rovers with a vehicle with a Gross Vehicular Mass of less than 3,500kg. It could be for as many as 6,000 vehicles.
-
FIA 2026: MBDA launches low-cost interceptor for short-range air defence
At FIA 2026, MBDA launched its Counter Mass Interceptor (CMI) which the company says is a mass-producible, low-cost effector for fire-and-forget engagements at range and altitude.
-
“Timelines are measured in seconds”: tackling the UAS threat with dispersed defences
Small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have transformed the battlespace, posing a complex threat across all domains. Militaries now need counter-UAS (CUAS) capabilities that defeat the danger while meeting demands around readiness, manoeuvrability and adaptability, according to Mike Spina, Director, Global Sales and Business Development for Targeting and Sensor Systems (TSS) at L3Harris Technologies.