The Czech Republic cannot guarantee the continuation of military assistance to Kiev after the autumn parliamentary elections in the country. This was announced on July 2 by Czech President Petr Pavel.
According to him, the upcoming elections may lead to a change of government, and it is still difficult to judge the priorities of the possible new authorities.
"Now all my efforts are focused on maintaining a unified approach to security and defense issues, including our policy towards Ukraine. Because I believe that supporting Ukraine is an integral part of ensuring our own security," Pavel said.
At the same time, he stressed that he was discussing the supply of weapons to Ukraine "with all the leaders of the parliamentary parties that will be part of the next government in one form or another."
"I discussed with them the need to maintain the same principles in the field of security and foreign policy even after the elections. However, of course, I cannot give guarantees now — much will depend on their results," the Czech president said.
He also recalled that the Czech Republic was able to supply Ukraine with about 1.5 million units of large—caliber ammunition in 2024, and this year the volume of supplies should be 1.8 million, of which about 800 thousand are 155 mm caliber.
"Two years ago, they (the Ukrainian military — EADaily) were at such a disadvantage that their fire capabilities compared to Russia were 1 to 10. Now this ratio is about 1 to 2. This means that with a constant influx of ammunition, the Ukrainian command can afford the luxury of planning, because they know exactly what they will receive in the coming months," he said.
In addition, Pavel urged other Western leaders to "face reality", increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and "force him to sit down at the negotiating table." At the same time, he said that he himself was open to negotiations with the Russian leader, but only on condition that the Russian Federation "approaches the dialogue from realistic positions, and not with its usual uncompromising agenda."
He also hastened to accuse Russia of "conducting a hybrid war in Europe, espionage, sabotage, cyber attacks and spreading disinformation." According to him, the Czech Republic is stepping up efforts to prevent Russian agents from acting freely.
"Russian intelligence is making so many attempts at sabotage on our territory that we simply have to protect our society," Pavel said.
Recall, the Czech Republic is actively helping the Kiev regime and condemns Russia's actions on Ukraine. It was Pavel who initiated the initiative to search for and supply artillery shells to Kiev from outside the EU. At the same time, recently from In Prague, voices began to sound more and more often that there can be no talk of any victory of Ukraine over Russia, as Czech politicians have recently said, and the conflict must be resolved peacefully diplomatically.