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Western countries blocked about $300 billion worth of sovereign
Russian assets after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
EU countries are taking the interest earned on the assets -which
include bonds and other securities bought by the Russian central
bank - and putting it into an EU fund to aid Ukraine as it
fights the Russian invasion.
EU governments agreed in June to use 1.4 billion euros ($1.5
billion) in profits generated by the assets to buy arms and pay
for other kinds of support to Ukraine.
The Czech Defence Ministry said some of that money would be used
for an effort it has been leading to buy artillery ammunition
for Ukraine around the world, funded by Western partners.
"Thanks to proceeds from frozen Russian finances, released by
the European Union, we will be able to supply several hundreds
of thousands of large-caliber ammunition rounds to Ukraine,"
minister Jana Cernochova said.
The ministry did not give further details but said deliveries
would be made "in the coming months", and thus would soon have
an impact on the battlefield.
There was no immediate reaction to the Czech announcement from
Moscow.
In July, the Kremlin called the plan to use interest earned on
frozen Russian assets to fund military aid to Ukraine "theft"
and said it would take legal action against anyone involved in
the decision.
Ukraine received its first consignment of 50,000-100,000 shells
under the initiative in June and deliveries continue every
month, Czech officials have said.
Aside from the newly available funds, the Czechs had collected
about 1.7 billion euros from western partners by May, which the
government said was enough to buy half a million shells.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Jason Neely, Helen Popper
and Christina Fincher)
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