“The Czech Republic has helped Ukraine as much as it can with the supply of weapons, but it no longer has the opportunity,” said President Petr Pavel.
According to the President, the Czech Republic has some capabilities in the field of air defense and ammunition production, but the latter may be problematic due to the labor shortage, with the current very low unemployment rate in the republic. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.
All previous deliveries of Czech weapons, military and special equipment to Ukraine were carried out mainly from the presence and storage of the armed forces of the Czech Republic, and also included deliveries by Czech defense industry companies and enterprises paid for by third countries. , by various donations, as well as by the Ukrainian side itself.
“In 2022, the Czech Republic transferred military property worth about 4.9 billion Czech crowns (about $219 million) to Ukraine over the state line,” Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Strategy and Technology Analysis, told socialbites.ca. as military aid
In 2023, the Czech Republic plans to transfer military property to Ukraine in aid of another 2 billion crowns ($90 million). In compensation for helping Ukraine from the Allies, the Czech Republic received $306 million from the United States, along with 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks and eight helicopters from Germany.
Also, according to Ruslan Pukhov, the EU is paying compensation to the Czech Republic for military aid to Ukraine through transfers from the so-called European Peace Fund, the first payment of 6.5 million euros was made in January. 1.5 billion crowns ($67 million) in 2022 for military aid to Ukraine.
As Ruslan Pukhov said, the estimated value of export licenses issued by the Czech defense industry for the supply of military equipment to Ukraine reached 68 billion kronor ($3.03 billion), and actual exports to Ukraine amounted to about 30 billion Czech crowns ( $1). .34 billion). As a result, it was previously reported that the Czech Republic’s total defense exports in 2022 will be the highest since 1989.
According to the Bmpd portal, by the end of 2022, up to 800 military personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces were trained in the Czech Republic, including the personnel of a 600-man fully mechanized battalion. Several dozen wounded soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were treated in the Czech Republic. In 2023, the Czech Armed Forces plans to train 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers at a cost of about 1 billion Czech crowns ($45 million).
“The Czech Republic is one of the main countries, thanks to the total volume of deliveries through military assistance to the armed forces, state funding, state fees coordinated by our ministry, and commercial deliveries also carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. Military equipment suppliers to Ukraine. “Both in absolute numbers and in relation to the size of the country,” said Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova.
According to the bmpd portal, a total from the Czech Republic was delivered to Ukraine in 2022:
– 93 tanks (T-72), including 38 by the Czech Ministry of Defense (apparently the remaining 55 – by the Excalibur Army establishment);
– 226 infantry fighting vehicles and armored vehicles (and, apparently, the remaining 166 – Excalibur Army; probably all were BMP-1), including 60 (55 infantry fighting vehicles and five RHM vehicles) by the Czech Ministry of Defense;
– 38 howitzers, including 13 self-propelled howitzers (possibly 152 mm Dana) by the Czech Ministry of Defense (and, apparently, the remaining 25 – Excalibur Army);
– 4 combat helicopters (possibly Mi-24D).
A similar amount of weapons and equipment sent to another state by a relatively small European country is more than impressive.
As for the prospects of continuing the supply of Czech weapons to Ukraine, Prague has certain opportunities for the production of weapons, military and special equipment. The military-industrial complex of this country can offer the potential customer of the military multi-purpose vehicles, small arms and electronic equipment.
For example, Cheshska Zbroevka enterprise produces 5.56 mm NATO standard cartridge, CZ-550 sniper rifles, 9 mm pistols from the CZ-G2000 family designed for the Scorpion submachine gun, machine guns and submachine guns from the CZ-2000 family. pistols, CZ-75, -85, -100, -PO series pistols and CZ-700 Sniper Ml sniper rifles.
The Czech Republic cannot offer a foreign customer significant quantities of 152/155 mm artillery systems. Several dozen DANA self-propelled artillery mounts were delivered to Ukraine, but Kiev needs not dozens, but hundreds of guns of similar caliber and several times more ammunition. And with the latter, the situation in the Czech Republic is not very favorable. Currently, the country is not in a position to produce 155mm shells in industrial quantities, as ammunition production remained on the territory of Slovakia after the “velvet revolution”.
In general, a country of 10 million inhabitants and with an armed force (about 24,000) not much larger than a wartime combined arms division cannot really transfer much of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.
As a way out of the situation, the President of the Czech Republic offered to withdraw workers from Ukraine. “It is difficult to find labor here. But there are opportunities to invite workers, for example, from Ukraine,” he said.
However, this is much easier said than done. It is enough to imagine how much money and organizational effort will have to be spent on moving the required number of workers and employees from Ukraine to the Czech Republic (with their families, it should be noted), their resettlement in a new place. residency and retraining (including mastering a foreign language), followed by production organization. In this case, the delivery of military products for the front can begin no later than six months (and this is according to the most optimistic estimates). By then, the fight may be over.
However, if we focus on the assessments of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who called on the West to provide long-term support to Ukraine, as he did not see any hope for a peaceful solution, then organized recruitment in Ukraine for the Czech defense enterprises no longer seems like a great idea.
“This year will be decisive for the development of the war,” Czech President Petr Pavel said at the end of an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. But this is also known without it.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.
Author biography:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military observer of socialbites.ca, a retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-aircraft Missile School (1976),
Air Defense Military Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile battalion (1980–1983).
Deputy commander of an anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986–1988).
Senior officer of the Main Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988–1992).
Chief of the General Staff Main Operations Directorate (1992–2000).
Graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000–2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010–2015).
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.