The Czech Republic wants to buy 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine from outside the EU. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said that the money is now available.

"These artillery shells come in different calibers, both the NATO standard 155 millimeter and the old Soviet standard 152 millimeter. The price tag is about €2.5 billion," Pevkur said.

The quality of the shells is obviously different, but according to Pevkur they are not inferior to Russia's.

Although some contracts have already been signed, it is not planned to disclose the countries selling the ammunition.

"I can't say at this point what the final arrangements will be, but the suppliers have already been identified," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said.

Some countries are reluctant to send their own equipment and ammunition, as they feel pressured by Russia.

"There is a lot of Soviet-era technology in the world that would be easy for the Ukrainians to operate, especially in African countries, for example, but it is not really possible to send much of this aid from there to Ukraine," Pevkur said.

Major powers such as Germany and France have contributed to the purchase of artillery shells. Lithuania has also decided to contribute, but Estonia has not.

"We have also made a long-term commitment of 0.25 percent of GDP in military assistance to Ukraine. But not all countries have made such contributions, and we want to see countries with much greater resources do their part," Kallas said.

"But we can take a little bit from our own warehouses and send some artillery shells, so that's our contribution," Pevkur said, adding that this will be his proposal to the government next week.

According to the defense minister, it is pivotal that the ammunition reaches Ukraine in the coming weeks.

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