As a member of the EU and NATO, the Czech Republic was one of the first suppliers of arms to war-ravaged Ukraine, Defence Minister Jana Cernochova has stressed.
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Prague has sent weapons, technology and ammunition worth 6.75 billion crowns ($288 million) to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Czech Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, July 3.
An EU and NATO member state with a population of 10.9 million, the Czech Republic was one of the first suppliers of arms to war-ravaged Ukraine, Defence Minister Jana Cernochova has said.
As of May 31, 2024, Prague has sent to Ukraine, among other things, 8 aircraft, 62 tanks, 131 armored vehicles, 26 chemical surveillance vehicles and 16 complete air defense vehicles, as well as 13 howitzers, 12 rocket launchers, 4,900 rockets, 645 anti-tank missiles and 8,022 rocket-propelled grenades, the ministry said on its website.
According to Jana Cernochova, Czech supplies are drying up, but, she assures, the country still has the equipment to deliver to Ukraine. “Since we are receiving Western military equipment to replace our Eastern technologies, we still have resources,” she said.
Prague recently signed deals to buy up to 92 German-made Leopard tanks to replace its obsolete Soviet-era fleet.
The Czech Republic also plans to buy 24 US-made F-35 fighter jets, 48 Israeli air-to-air missiles and 210 CV 90 combat vehicles from Sweden, bringing its defence spending to 2% of GDP, as required by NATO.