Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba discussed the progress of the Czech initiative to purchase shells for Ukraine with his Czech colleague Jan Lipavský. The first shells from the Czech initiative will arrive in Ukraine at the end of May or the beginning of June.
In turn, Italy may approve the ninth package of military aid to Ukraine before the G7 Summit in Puglia on June 13, which includes artillery and the SAMP/T air defense system. Italy has five such systems, and Rome plans to transfer the system it has loaned to Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the US is considering purchasing 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft in Kazakhstan through offshore structures for further transfer to Ukraine. These are Su-24 front-line bombers, MiG-23, and MiG-29 fighters, as well as MiG-27 fighter-bombers. These are planes that Kazakhstan is selling for disposal. It is assumed that Ukraine’s military will disassemble them for spare parts or use them as fake targets.