Blinken, Czechia’s Lipavský discuss Ukraine aid

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavský, during which the top diplomats raised the issue of further support for Ukraine.

That’s according to the spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Matthew Miller, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The Secretary and the Foreign Minister reaffirmed our countries’ resolute support for Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s aggression and discussed coordination on Czechia’s defense modernization," Miller noted.

According to the spokesman, the parties emphasized “the importance of our shared democratic values, the strong U.S.-Czech relationship, and continued humanitarian support to Palestinian civilians.”

In addition, Blinken and Lipavský talked about deepening cooperation on energy issues and supporting Taiwan's “meaningful participation” in international fora.

In turn, Lipavsky wrote on X social network that he discussed with Blinken the scheduled visit of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala who is set to meet with President Joe Biden.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Czech Republic has been raising funds for ammunition to donate it to Ukraine. According to Fiala, money has already been collected for 300,000 rounds, and preliminary consent has been received for another 200,000. Earlier, he offered EU partners to purchase ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine from third countries. In February, the country's president, Petr Pavel, said Prague had already found 800,000 artillery rounds that could potentially be sent to Ukraine. Eighteen nations have already joined Czechia’s initiative.

Ammunition purchased beyond the EU within the framework of the Czech initiative may arrive in Ukraine as early as June.