Czech Prime Minister Discloses Covert Arms Transfers to Ukraine

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the previous government secretly allocated 17.1 billion crowns, about €700 million, in classified spending for weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“The Czech budget secretly invested 17.1 billion crowns in weapons, all of it was hidden, all of it was top secret,” Czech news agency Ceske Noviny quoted Babiš as saying.

According to the agency, ammunition worth more than €11 billion, or roughly 274 billion crowns, passed through Czech companies as part of support efforts for Ukraine. The Czech Republic acted as an intermediary, facilitating procurement and deliveries from third countries.

Babiš said the previous government, led by Petr Fiala, deliberately concealed the scale and details of the initiative. Fiala has criticized the public disclosure, saying it could pose a security risk, according to Czech media reports.

Prague played a central role in organizing the collection and delivery of large-caliber artillery shells for Ukraine. In 2024, Ukraine received about 1.5 million rounds of ammunition through the initiative, followed by another 300,000 rounds in 2025. The Netherlands and Denmark were among the most active partner countries supporting the effort.

Babiš said in mid-December that Prague would no longer guarantee funding for Kyiv. He later clarified that the Czech government would not allocate state funds for a related missile initiative, though it could continue if financed by other countries.

Babiš, leader of the ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) movement, won the October parliamentary elections and was appointed prime minister on December 9. He said the Czech government should place greater emphasis on domestic priorities rather than Ukraine-related spending.