Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, has said that the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine from third countries still needs financing.

"We need more money for these shells. We need more shells for Ukraine, because Russia is still capable of producing a lot, much more than Ukraine has on the front line. Unfortunately, in war, this math matters. Therefore, we want Ukraine to be able to defend itself from Russian aggression," he said before the start of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

Thus, the minister called on countries to join the Czech initiative and allocate money for shells.

Answering the question of how much ammunition has already been funded, Lipavsky said that "we are disclosing this amount at the moment." At the same time, he confirmed that 300,000 of them have already been funded.

"It's true. But this is only part of it. Much more can be done," the Foreign Minister continued.

Regarding the readiness to support the proposal of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to allocate EUR 100 billion to Ukraine over five years, Lipavsky said that "we must consider this issue and study it in detail."

"So we need to see this plan and discuss it internally as well. But in general, yes, we must support Ukraine," the minister said.