Czech Republic sends more weapons and military equipment to Ukraine

The Czech Republic will send additional weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Sunday after an extraordinary government session. The prime minister said he received a request for specific military systems from the Ukrainian president and the country was able to respond to it without delay. The delivery, worth 400 million, should be dispatched on Sunday afternoon. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is said to have prepared the purchase and transport of hundreds of tons of fuel, which the Czech Republic is donating to Ukraine. On Saturday, the country sent machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition worth 188 million crowns to Ukraine, which have already been delivered.

Mr. Fiala said that the democratic world must remain strong and united in the face of this aggression. He said the latest developments in Ukraine showed the importance of investing the required 2% of GDP in defence, which the Czech Republic had pledged to fulfill by 2025. The Czech Prime Minister said that isolating Russia would be costly, but Europe must be prepared for the cost of future European security.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens except in humanitarian cases and Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said he would ask the EU to implement the same measure within Schengen.