Still not enough funds for Czech initiative to buy shells for Ukraine – Estonia's defense minister

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has said that a number of countries have already contributed to the Czech initiative to purchase shells for Ukraine, but there is still a lack of money.

That's according to ERR, Ukrinform reports.

Pevkur said there are places in the world where shells can be bought, but the question is whether there is money for this.

"If we are talking about a million shells, then this is about three billion euros. There are different calibers. Smaller ones are a little cheaper. It would be great if everything could be done. At the moment, we can say that there is more money missing than shells," Pevkur said.

He noted that attempts are being made to find the missing amounts primarily in Northern and Central Europe.

At the same time, according to Pevkur, it is difficult to predict when the shells might be delivered to the front. Some may arrive in a few months, and some by the end of the year.

"A lot depends on the fact that we need to physically check some of the shells of these possible partners. We were told that we can get [shells] there, but in what condition they are, whether they are even suitable for use - all this needs to be checked," Pevkur said.

The Czech Republic earlier initiated the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine in third countries using EU money. The issue concerns about 800,000 rounds of ammunition that were found in different parts of the world.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski later announced that Warsaw would double its financial contribution to the Czech Republic's initiative to purchase ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Photo: Minister of Defense of Estonia