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15-03-2024, 12:13 PM
How Czech Republic has topped Putin & saved Ukraine helping in the nick of time, Kyiv would probably have lost an entire oblast by now
Russia went into Ukraine 2yrs ago with twice as many artillery pieces as Ukraine had. But it isn’t the advantage it’s the advantage in shells. Czechs found, for Ukraine, nearly a million shells precisely when Ukraine needed million shells. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Czech artillery initiative probably saved entire Ukrainian cities, by giving the Ukrainian army the firepower to resist a much bigger Russian army.
It’s no secret how Ukraine got into an artillery bind late last year. In early 2023, according, Washington Post, US quietly brokered a deal with South Korea – a country with sprawling artillery factories – to purchase, likely for billions of dollars, a whopping one million shells in standard Nato 155mm calibre, now also the standard artillery round of Ukraine.
Million shells, heaped on top of ammunition Ukraine was getting from USA & European countries, freed Ukraine’s 3,000 or so howitzers to blast away at a rate of at least 10,000 rounds a day – matching 1st time daily firing rate of Russia’s 6,000 howitzers. And why is not surprise Czech Republic involving with a dozen European countries, been so critical to Ukraine’s survival as Russia’s wider war on the country grinds into its third year. For months, Ukrainians achieved firepower parity on Russians.
Many analysts rate Ukraine’s mid-2023 counter offensive liberated just a few hundred square of miles in southern and eastern Ukraine, a profound disappointment, with modest gains. And losing some ground is exactly what Ukrainians did after their counteroffensive petered out around Oct, that when Russian army, swelling half a million deployed Russians & tens of thousands of their troops kill for a drive on a vulnerable Ukrainian city: Avdiivka, a former industrial centre a few miles from front line in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
On Feb. 18, Czech defense policy chief Jan Jires shocked his audience & announced – at Munich security conference – his govt had identified 800k artillery shells “sitting in non-Western countries,” apparently include South Korea, Turkey and South Africa.
Czech said Republic would be middleman for Ukraine’s allies – other than USA, would help to pay for ammo. Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Netherlands quickly signed up. Soon, another 13 countries is joining the Czech artillery club. In three weeks, Jires and his colleagues collected all $1.5 billion. Shells were on their way within weeks.
With months’ worth of shells on the way, Ukrainian brigades no longer had to conserve what little ammo they’d been saving for emergencies. In early March, Ukraine’s batteries opened fire. Five miles west of Avdiivka, Ukrainian troops halted their retreat, turned and counterattacked. Finally enjoying something approaching adequate artillery support, they stopped the Russian offensive dead in its tracks in villages with names like Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonen’ke.
Artillery – a shortage of it is main reason Ukrainians nearly lost a whole eastern oblast to Russians and spring, artillery – a million shells brokered by a tiny Eastern European country – is the main reason Ukrainians didn’t lose that whole oblast. Artillery is king of battle, current kingmaker is … the Czech Republic.
Russia went into Ukraine 2yrs ago with twice as many artillery pieces as Ukraine had. But it isn’t the advantage it’s the advantage in shells. Czechs found, for Ukraine, nearly a million shells precisely when Ukraine needed million shells. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Czech artillery initiative probably saved entire Ukrainian cities, by giving the Ukrainian army the firepower to resist a much bigger Russian army.
It’s no secret how Ukraine got into an artillery bind late last year. In early 2023, according, Washington Post, US quietly brokered a deal with South Korea – a country with sprawling artillery factories – to purchase, likely for billions of dollars, a whopping one million shells in standard Nato 155mm calibre, now also the standard artillery round of Ukraine.
Million shells, heaped on top of ammunition Ukraine was getting from USA & European countries, freed Ukraine’s 3,000 or so howitzers to blast away at a rate of at least 10,000 rounds a day – matching 1st time daily firing rate of Russia’s 6,000 howitzers. And why is not surprise Czech Republic involving with a dozen European countries, been so critical to Ukraine’s survival as Russia’s wider war on the country grinds into its third year. For months, Ukrainians achieved firepower parity on Russians.
Many analysts rate Ukraine’s mid-2023 counter offensive liberated just a few hundred square of miles in southern and eastern Ukraine, a profound disappointment, with modest gains. And losing some ground is exactly what Ukrainians did after their counteroffensive petered out around Oct, that when Russian army, swelling half a million deployed Russians & tens of thousands of their troops kill for a drive on a vulnerable Ukrainian city: Avdiivka, a former industrial centre a few miles from front line in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
On Feb. 18, Czech defense policy chief Jan Jires shocked his audience & announced – at Munich security conference – his govt had identified 800k artillery shells “sitting in non-Western countries,” apparently include South Korea, Turkey and South Africa.
Czech said Republic would be middleman for Ukraine’s allies – other than USA, would help to pay for ammo. Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Netherlands quickly signed up. Soon, another 13 countries is joining the Czech artillery club. In three weeks, Jires and his colleagues collected all $1.5 billion. Shells were on their way within weeks.
With months’ worth of shells on the way, Ukrainian brigades no longer had to conserve what little ammo they’d been saving for emergencies. In early March, Ukraine’s batteries opened fire. Five miles west of Avdiivka, Ukrainian troops halted their retreat, turned and counterattacked. Finally enjoying something approaching adequate artillery support, they stopped the Russian offensive dead in its tracks in villages with names like Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonen’ke.
Artillery – a shortage of it is main reason Ukrainians nearly lost a whole eastern oblast to Russians and spring, artillery – a million shells brokered by a tiny Eastern European country – is the main reason Ukrainians didn’t lose that whole oblast. Artillery is king of battle, current kingmaker is … the Czech Republic.
