Hello everyone,
Welcome to my 8th Eyes on Eurasia podcast! For the past year, the Czech Republic has played a major role in launching a NATO-backed arms initiative to secure ammunition for Ukraine in its David versus Goliath struggle with Russia.
Since Czech President Petr Pavel first announced this initiative during the Munich Security Conference in February 2024, the Czech Republic has taken on the daunting challenge of helping Ukraine to secure 500,000 rounds of artillery munition using its global network of contacts in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
On average, Russia uses around 10,000 rounds per day in its intense artillery war against Ukraine, while Kyiv in turn, uses as much as 5,000 rounds of munition a day to counter Russian attacks. Needless to say, the artillery dimension of the war poses an enormous challenge for Ukraine and its NATO allies, as Europe lacks the defense industrial capacity to meet this threat.
Joining me to discuss the Czech arms initiative is Tomáš Kopečný who is the Czech Republic’s special envoy to Ukraine for the Czech ammunition initiative. Mr. Kopečný is a former Deputy Defense Minister in Czechia who has more than a decade of experience in defense and defense industrial base-related issues. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Journal, earlier this year he used the phrase from J.R.R. Tolkien to describe the Czech arms initiative in this way: “We are like hobbits - small and peaceful but in a moment of crisis we jump to forge alliances with more powerful countries and deliver results.”
Enjoy the podcast!
Glen
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