MOSCOW, July 24 Five Czech companies will produce ammunition in 2025 with money from European donors, which will be a continuation of the Czech Republic’s initiative to collect shells for Ukraine, Deník N reported on Wednesday with reference to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.
The publication writes that we are talking about half a million 155-mm artillery shells. 
«As the head of the defense department, Jana Černohová, told our publication, a new initiative for arms supplies to Ukraine is currently being prepared. Five Czech defense companies will take part in its implementation — Czechoslovak Group, STV Group, Omnipol, Colt CZ Group SE and DSS,» the report notes.
The idea of purchasing hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition from third countries for Ukraine, known as the “Czech Ammunition Initiative,” was first publicly announced by Czech President Petr Pavel at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February this year. According to Pavel, the Czech Republic has identified half a million pieces of 155 mm ammunition and 300 thousand pieces of 122 mm ammunition in third countries, which could be delivered to Ukraine within a few weeks if partners in the United States, Germany, Sweden or other countries provide funding.
At the same time, the Czech Republic itself is positioning itself as an intermediary, coordinating the signing of memoranda and coordinating the logistics aspects of supplies.
As Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Monday, 18 countries have so far joined the initiative, with 15 of them already making a financial contribution.
Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine interfere with the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict and are “playing with fire.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to negotiations and will have a negative effect.