Czech Republic is among the countries that most actively support Ukraine against Russian aggression. Aid to Kiev is contested among the Czechs, but the country benefits greatly from both arms supplies and refugee admissions.
The Czech Republic is among the most determined and active supporters of Ukraine – both in sending military and humanitarian aid and in accepting Ukrainian refugees. President Peter Pavel, a general and former high-ranking NATO official, keeps stressing the need for much more active support from the West.
„If we had not wasted so much time in discussion and risk assessments, Ukraine could have received the aid much earlier and the situation would look different today,” he said in an interview with the German public media ARD.< /p>
The Czech Republic was one of the first countries to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, ARD recalls, and adds that it was precisely because of them that Prague had to dispel fears that it was contributing to the escalation of the conflict several times.
Insufficient support
When it became clear in the weeks before the Russian invasion that war might break out, the Ministry of Defense in Prague began to actively compile lists of weapons materials available on the market. Long-standing contacts in the Czech defense industry were also used for this purpose, emphasizes ARD.
It is precisely thanks to this activity of the Czech Republic, in close cooperation especially with Denmark, the Netherlands and the USA, that the first large-scale deliveries of weapons to Kiev became possible in the spring of 2022. Now, these efforts are ongoing, but neither the scope nor the speed of delivery is satisfactory – think in the Czech Ministry of Defense. The problem, according to Prague, is not the lack of military materials, but money. Only five of the 20 countries that have declared support for Ukraine have sent the full contribution. And five other countries that have also pledged support have so far taken no action. The Czechs diplomatically refuse to announce who these countries are.
There is enough ammo on the market
So far, only the orders for 500,000 artillery ammunition with a total value of 1.7 billion euros have been completed. That's enough to match the firepower of the Ukrainians with that of the Russians for about two and a half months. Many times more ammunition is available on the market, and Russia is also interested in buying from this ammunition.
Statistics show that actual willingness to support Ukraine decreases along with countries' distance from Russia. For example, Denmark is almost five times more engaged than France – as a percentage of its gross domestic product. The Czech Republic allocates just over 1 percent of GDP to support Ukraine and occupies one of the middle places in Europe in terms of this indicator, informs ARD.
How the Czech Republic won the war
Since the beginning of the war, the Czech Republic has been among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine and has taken in the largest number of refugees relative to its population. The nationalist opposition in the country condemns this fact and raises the slogan "Money for Czechs, not Ukrainians".
However, the balance sheet shows quite clearly: the Czech Republic is in profit. Arms supplies have been more than offset by so-called circular exchanges with NATO partners. And Ukrainian refugees are increasingly successfully integrated into Czech society and no longer create only costs, but also bring profits to the state.
Currently, about 380,000 Ukrainian refugees are registered in the country. About a third of them work, pay taxes and contributions to the social security system. For comparison: only one fifth of Ukrainian refugees work and pay taxes in Germany, reminds ARD.
The benefits to social systems
In 2022, aid to Ukrainian refugees cost the Czech Republic about one billion euros, and in the same period refugees contributed about 500 million euros to the country's social systems. Now, just two years later, their contributions already exceed the government's expenditure on their upkeep, the ARD publication says.