In the Czech Republic, disagreements have arisen between the defense minister and the ruling coalition over military aid to Ukraine

In the Czech Republic, the government and the ruling coalition have split over the issue of aid to Ukraine. The trigger was statements by Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna.

This was reported by the Novinky portal.

Last week, Zuna publicly supported continuing the Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine and said the country’s participation in the program should be maintained. He also reaffirmed support for Ukraine.

These statements were received negatively by the ruling coalition. They were brought up for discussion at a council of the election-winning parties ANO, SPD, and Motoristé. As a result, the coalition parties decided that from now on the defense minister would speak publicly only on issues related to the army and its provision, while the government’s foreign-policy line—including on Ukraine—would be communicated publicly only by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

After that, one of the coalition leaders, Tomio Okamura, said at a press conference—while the minister was present—that the minister “did not accept an invitation to visit Ukraine.”

Okamura also stressed that any support for Ukraine “must lead to peace,” and said his SPD party would refuse to finance the purchase of weapons for Kyiv from the state budget.

According to him, the Ministry of Defense must submit documents to end the country’s participation in the initiative to assist Ukraine.