Czechs lead talks on ammunition supplies for Ukraine into 2026

Krystof Chamonikolas and Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg News on May 4, 2025

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Czechs are leading talks on continuing deliveries of heavy ammunition for Ukraine stretching into 2026, said President Petr Pavel.

The Czech leader, speaking after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Prague on Sunday, said the so-called Czech ammunition initiative financed by 11 countries was on track to deliver 1.8 million shells to Kyiv this year.

“This is a very strong decision,” Zelenskyy said of the initiative, which he added was “working brilliantly.”

The push to keep ammunition and weaponry flowing to Ukraine comes as the U.S. and other allies make halting efforts to reach a ceasefire in the war, now well into its fourth year.

Pavel warned that any weakening of the military aid could encourage Russia to revive its original goal of occupying all of Ukraine and prolong the conflict.

“We are simultaneously negotiating about ammunition supplies for next year, because we obviously can’t assume that peaces will be achieved this year,” he said.

A staunch ally of Kyiv within the European Union and NATO, the Czech Republic has been coordinating international supplies of ammunition and also hosts one of the biggest group of Ukrainian refugees.

Upon his arrival on Sunday, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky called Zelenskyy “the leader of the free world.” Zelenskyy, along with his wife Olena Zelenska, will stay in Prague through Monday, when the president will meet other top officials.

The Czech approach to Ukraine is in stark contrast to that adopted by neighboring Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico plans to be the only EU leader to attend the May 9 celebrations in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Fico criticized a recent comment by Zelenskyy that Ukraine couldn’t guarantee the safety of foreign officials during an anniversary parade in Moscow.

“Let’s not confuse the present with the past,” Fico told reporters in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, on Sunday. “If Mr. Zelenskyy believes that foreign delegations will now be discouraged from attending, he’s seriously mistaken. This is unacceptable and has no place in modern diplomacy.”

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(With assistance from Daniel Hornak.)

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