Ammunition initiative for Ukraine to continue, Czech president says

PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech-led initiative to supply Ukraine with large-calibre ammunition has delivered 1.6 million shells and will continue, Czech President Petr Pavel said on Saturday, a year after he announced the drive to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Pavel said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that funding had been secured for shipments until April and the initiative would continue beyond that time.

"We have secured from our allies sufficient resources to cover Ukraine's need until April of this year, and also here at the conference, I negotiated with allies to consider providing more resources," Pavel said at a news conference shown live on Czech television.

"Now we cannot afford to - so to speak - take the foot off the gas, when the finish may be somewhere in the fog ahead within sight, but we will have to support Ukraine at least until some peace agreement is implemented and until we are sure Ukraine can stand on its own feet."

Under the initiative, the Czechs have used their diplomatic, business and industrial expertise to find large-calibre ammunition around the world and ship it to Ukraine with funding from NATO allies.

Pavel said Ukraine had received 1.6 million rounds of large-calibre ammunition over the last year.

Last October, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the initiative would meet the target of delivering half a million shells by the end of 2024.

A Czech government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Saturday the half million referred just to 155mm artillery rounds, while the rest were other types of shells with over 100mm calibre.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; editing by Barbara Lewis)