Czech government to keep ammunition initiative, but without state funding

Czechia will not abolish its international ammunition initiative for Ukraine, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Tuesday, marking a shift from his earlier pre-election stance while stressing that no Czech state budget money will be used to finance the project.

Speaking after a meeting of leaders from the so-called Coalition of the Willing in Paris, Babiš said the initiative would continue with Czechia acting as a coordinator, but funding would come exclusively from partner countries.

He said the decision was made in agreement with coalition partners Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Motorists.

“The project will continue, and the Czech Republic will be the coordinator. No money from Czech citizens will be invested in the ammunition initiative,” Babiš said in a statement posted on social media.

The future of the initiative is also set to be discussed on Wednesday by the State Security Council, which advises the government on key security matters. Babiš said he had not yet attended that meeting but had already concluded, based on recent international talks, that scrapping the project was not in Czechia’s interest.

Launched under the previous government, the initiative seeks artillery ammunition for Ukraine from non-EU countries as Kyiv continues to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion. The first deliveries reached Ukraine in mid-2024, and more than four million rounds have reportedly been supplied so far.

Babiš had sharply criticized the initiative before last October’s parliamentary elections and pledged to cancel it if elected. More recently, however, he has acknowledged its value, while questioning whether it was sufficiently transparent.

Speaking to Czech journalists in Paris, Babiš said the initiative could only continue if it remained corruption-free and fully funded by foreign partners. “We have the know-how, our companies have the know-how. Of course, it must be transparent and without corruption,” he said.

The Czech Republic has worked most closely with the Netherlands and Denmark on the program. Former Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský previously stated that international donors had contributed around CZK 100 billion, with Czechia contributing a relatively small share.

Alongside the ammunition talks, Babiš made clear that Czechia opposes sending troops to Ukraine, rejecting parts of the Coalition of the Willing’s joint declaration. He said the country would instead continue focusing on training Ukrainian soldiers.

“We are short of troops, we need to build our army, and we need our soldiers at home,” Babiš said, adding that several other European countries share the same position.

The prime minister said discussions on Ukraine would continue ahead of an extraordinary EU summit in February, where European security and competitiveness are expected to dominate the agenda.