Czech artillery ammo program for Ukraine loses half donors

A Czech-led initiative to procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine has lost half of its international financial backers, raising questions about the future of a program that has supplied a significant portion of Kyiv's large-caliber shells. Czech President Petr Pavel said the number of countries contributing financially has fallen from 18 to nine since Prime Minister Andrej Babis took office in December 2025.

The initiative, launched in early 2024 to address severe ammunition shortages in Ukraine, remains operational and has contracts to deliver approximately one million artillery rounds in 2026, according to the Czech Defense Ministry. To date, the program has facilitated the delivery of more than four million shells, with officials stating it provided around 1.5 million rounds in 2024 and 1.8 million in 2025. President Pavel said the initiative has accounted for as much as fifty percent of all large-caliber ammunition provided to Ukraine by its allies, calling it highly valuable support that would be difficult to replace.

The decline in participation follows a political shift in Prague. Prime Minister Babis, who campaigned on reducing state spending including support for...