The Czech Republic will not block the €70 billion in aid to Ukraine, but will not participate in its financing
The Czech Republic will not stand in the way of a NATO decision to provide Ukraine with €70 billion in military aid annually in 2026–2027, but it will not contribute to the new funding itself.
According to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Prague does not plan to allocate additional funds from the state budget to support Ukraine, as fulfilling its own defense commitments to the North Atlantic Alliance remains the top priority.
“Of course, we will not pay Ukraine money from the Czech budget, because we need that money primarily to meet the two percent requirement; therefore, it is logical that large countries will pay this money, just as they have in the past,” Babiš stated.
At the same time, Czech President Petr Pavel expressed a different view. In his opinion, ceasing support for Ukraine would be a strategic mistake, as the countries that are helping Kyiv now will have better opportunities to participate in the country’s postwar reconstruction.
The president also emphasized that an independent Ukraine with a strong and well-equipped army is a vital element of security for all of Europe. He said that the Czech Republic needs to continue the discussion on long-term support for Ukraine.
“It will be important to discuss at the level of the Czech Republic how we will approach this issue in the long term,” he said.
Separately, Babiš announced plans to increase defense spending. According to him, in 2027, the Czech Ministry of Defense’s budget will increase by 36 billion Czech korunas, which will allow the country to meet NATO’s target—spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense—for the first time.
Currently, the Czech Republic’s defense budget stands at 154.79 billion crowns, or about 1.8% of GDP. In addition, another 30 billion crowns are planned to be allocated to defense needs from other items in the state budget.
According to Babiš, the Czech government’s key priorities remain increasing the size of the army, developing air defense systems and counter-drone capabilities, and fulfilling all of the Czech Republic’s defense obligations to NATO.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš made this statement ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, according to České Noviny.
As a reminder, the 36th NATO summit begins on July 7 in Ankara and will last two days. Heads of state and government from all 32 Alliance countries, including U.S. President Donald Trump, will gather at the presidential complex.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Ankara on Tuesday, where the NATO summit is taking place.
