The Czech Republic will halt ammunition supplies to Ukraine if the opposition comes to power

The Czech Republic will stop providing military aid to Kyiv if the opposition comes to power.

This was stated by Karel Havlíček, head of the shadow government of the Czech Republic’s largest opposition party, ANO, according to the local publication Denik N.

Havlíček, who is also the vice-president of ANO—a movement led by former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš—announced that his government would discontinue the initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine if they enter office.

“We do not intend to continue the ammunition initiative. Not at all,” Havlíček said.

Under the Czech initiative, Ukraine was supposed to receive 500,000 artillery shells, but just over one-third of the promised amount was delivered. This was despite 15 countries joining Prague’s initiative by the end of August 2024 to procure 155 mm artillery shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine from outside the European Union.

Previously, Czech President Petr Pavel stated that achieving victory over Russia at the cost of half of Ukraine’s population would not constitute a true victory. Pavel described as “dangerous for everyone” the “hopes that the war will end with a decisive Ukrainian victory within a few weeks or months.”