One of the largest arms manufacturers and distributors in Central Europe, a company from the Czech Republic Czechoslovak Group, said that half of the ammunition produced could not be sent to Ukraine in the shortest possible time, as agreed, due to rising prices and poor quality of components. This was reported by the Financial Times.
The head and owner of the Czechoslovak Group, Michal Strnad, said that almost 50 per cent of the components purchased by the firm on behalf of the Czech government in Asia and Africa were of unsatisfactory quality so that they could be sent to Ukraine without further improvement. For some ammunition, he said, the firm needed to bring in missing parts of its own manufacture.
“Every week prices go up and there are big problems with the components … It’s not an easy job,” Strnad told the publication.
He emphasised, however, that the “Czech initiative” to buy ammunition for Kiev remains “on track” and that CSG intends to deliver its allotted portion of ammunition.
Strnad said orders from European ammunition manufacturers are filled for up to the next eight years, depending on the type of parts, even though “we are all ramping up capacity.”
He also confirmed predictions that, as part of the “Czech initiative,” shell deliveries to Kiev would begin in June.
Earlier, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the first deliveries of 155 millimetre calibre shells would be made as early as June.
Russia believes that arms deliveries to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict and are “playing with fire”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargoes that contain arms for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. He said the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel on the territory of the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries. The Kremlin said that pumping weapons into Ukraine from the West was not conducive to negotiations and would have a negative effect.
