Ukraine to receive more ammunition, gain advantage over Russia — Colonel Grant

He shared this opinion on Espreso TV channel.

When asked about the pace of ammunition supplies to Ukraine, Grant said:

"On the strategic level, we're aware that the expected financial support from America has yet to materialize. However, American politicians supporting Ukraine are becoming increasingly assertive and adept at employing political and procedural tools within Congress. This suggests that there may be a breakthrough in terms of American support".

As for European aid, the expert believes that the Czech Republic has established supplies of ammunition from countries outside of Europe, such as South Africa and South Korea.

“Although this ammunition is on its way, its delivery won't happen instantaneously due to the logistical challenges of moving heavy munitions. Typically, sea transport is used, with limited airlift capacity available. Additionally, the European promise of one million rounds is experiencing production delays, resulting in a slower-than-expected delivery to Ukraine,” Grant said. 

“Nevertheless, I believe there will come a critical point where Ukraine begins to receive more ammunition, potentially placing it in a better position relative to Russia,” he added.

Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine: what is known

On February 17, the Czech Republic said it had found sources abroad for hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds that it could deliver to Ukraine in a matter of weeks.

The Netherlands publicly announced their participation by allocating 100 million euros for the purchase of ammunition. France will also join the initiative to procure ammunition for Ukraine outside the EU. Additionally, Germany and Norway have expressed support for the initiative.

On February 22, it became known that Canada was ready to allocate up to $22 million for shells for Ukraine. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo also announced that the country would finance the Czech initiative with €200 million.

On March 2, the Czech Republic announced that they would be able to make the first deliveries of ammunition to Kyiv within a few weeks.

Later, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė stated that her country would support the Czech Republic's multilateral initiative to purchase and transfer artillery ammunition to Ukraine.

On March 8, Czech President Petr Pavel announced the completion of fundraising for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine. The government clarified that it was only the first batch of 300,000 shells.

On March 12, the Czech Republic announced the possibility of purchasing another 200,000 artillery shells for Ukraine in addition to the 300,000 already financed.

The Czech government said that artillery shells, which will be purchased at the initiative of Prague, are likely to start arriving in Ukraine in June.