Babiš will reconsider the Czech initiative to purchase shells for Ukraine

The Czech National Security Council will discuss on January 7 the future of the “Czech initiative” to supply shells to Ukraine.

This was reported by the new prime minister, Andrej Babiš, in an interview with the international news agency Reuters.

As the outlet writes, the head of the Czech government “criticized the lack of transparency of the scheme,” but for now “Babiš has not taken a clear position on its future.”

“In principle, the ammunition initiative was certainly a good one. The only question is whether it was carried out without corruption. This will be discussed at the State Security Council on January 7,” Babiš said at a press conference after a government meeting on Monday.

At the same time, the new Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, remains a vehement opponent of supporting Ukraine in any form.

“No money from Czech citizens will go to buying weapons and supporting the war in Ukraine, and the new government must focus on ways to end the conflict,” he said.

Reuters notes that the Czech “shell initiative” accounts for 43% of the total volume of ammunition supplied to Kyiv by its partners. This year, Ukraine will receive 1.8 million artillery rounds from the Czech Republic.

Earlier, Babiš refused to provide guarantees for a loan to Kyiv.