Czech Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake said that handing over Prague’s initiative on purchasing ammunition for Ukraine to NATO would amount to a direct escalation of the conflict, Novinky reported.

He explained that from the very start of hostilities there was a common rule: NATO as an organization supplies only non-lethal equipment, while lethal weapons are delivered exclusively by individual member states. This framework, he stressed, was designed specifically to avoid escalation and prevent the alliance from being drawn directly into war with Russia.

Meanwhile, leaders of the opposition ANO movement, which polls suggest is leading ahead of the October 3–4 elections to the lower house of parliament, have been pressing for NATO to assume control over the initiative. The proposal has faced criticism from both the Czech government and numerous experts.

Commenting from New York, Czech President Petr Pavel warned that refusing such assistance to Kyiv would be a dangerous and regrettable move.

The program was launched a year and a half ago. Ammunition is purchased in third countries with financial backing from Western partners. Czech media reported that Ukraine received about 1.5 million shells through Prague in 2024, with another 1.1 million supplied this year.