Czechs Say Initiative Delivered 500,000 Artillery Shells To Ukraine This Year

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said around 500,000 artillery shells have been delivered to Ukraine this year under a Czech-led global effort to support Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on May 5, Fiala also pledged to increase the instruction of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets and L-39s, a Czech-built trainer plane.

Fiala made no mention of whether the Czech government was considering offering soldiers to serve in Ukraine as part of the Coalition of the Willing effort spearheaded by France and Germany.

That effort aims to organize a multinational group of troops who would be deployed to Ukraine as peacekeepers, once there is a halt to Russia’s all-out invasion, now in its fourth year.

Zelenskyy is on a two-day visit to one of Kyiv's strongest European allies.

The trip comes as Kyiv and Moscow, as well as most European capitals, gear up for celebrations on the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Ukraine, which has suffered massive destruction and loss of life since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, shifted its remembrance of Victory Day to May 8, aligned with the date when Western allies mark the occasion.

As it did under the Soviet Union, Moscow observes the day on May 9, since the Nazi surrender in 1945 occurred overnight in Moscow.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has called for a three-day cease-fire in its Ukraine invasion beginning on May 8.

In response, Zelenskyy called instead for a longer, 30-day cease-fire.

During his visit to the Czech parliament Zelenskyy noticed a group of cleaning ladies from Ukraine who were watching his arrival through a glass door. He approached them and took a group photo with them. The picture has gone viral.

Zelenskyy also gave an interview to Czech television CT24, acknowledging the difficulties that Ukraine's soldiers face.

"If you look at the battlefield, you understand that no one rests in war," he said. "I completely understand what is happening, and there are moments of crisis, emotional waves and physical exhaustion, because this is a war. "

He added that Ukraine is defending the homeland and "everyone understands the price" and noted that Ukraine is "holding on and defending our independence, which means that from a general point of view we have heroic soldiers and a strong people supporting them."

During earlier meetings with President Petr Pavel, Zelenskyy said Putin could end the war "with a single decision" but "has not shown any willingness" to do so.

Renewed Western efforts to resolve the conflict, pushed in large part by US President Donald Trump, have begun to falter, as Russia continues to press its advantage on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Despite an earlier tentative agreement to limit attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukraine and Russia have also continued to target oil pipelines, power plants, electricity transmission lines, and other crucial sites.

The Czech government has headed a global effort to source and send artillery shells to Ukraine. In February, Pavel said more than 1.6 million shells had been delivered to date as part of that program.

Ukraine faces a critical shortage of ammunition in its battle to repel Russian forces that launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia is said to have a 3:1 advantage in ammunition supplies and has pledged to increase its output this year as part of a 25 percent increase in military spending for 2025.