Following a proposal by President Petr Pavel to move forward with the transfer of L-159 light fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force—which has been on the table since January 16 after a visit to Kyiv—the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and several political parties in parliament have confirmed their opposition. In this regard, leaders of three political groups spoke out, including the country’s Minister of Defense Jaromír Zuna of the SPD and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petr Macinka, representing the Motorists party.
Expanding on some details, it can be noted that the proposal itself lasted barely three days, as Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (leader of a coalition that includes the ANO party and the aforementioned groups) rejected the plan after multiple reports identified the L-159 as a candidate for transfer. Together with the head of the defense portfolio, he argued that the platform is required by the Czech Air Force to fulfill its mission, while the ministry led by Macinka maintained that it was not a proposal agreed upon between the presidency and the governing coalition—a relevant point given the country’s parliamentary system.
In addition, President Pavel faced direct opposition from political sectors that firmly oppose military assistance to Ukraine beyond the aircraft in question, who also pointed to the need to maintain credible deterrence capabilities and the impact that relinquishing these aircraft would have on national armed forces. Moreover, local media even reported that parties more favorable to supporting Kyiv also expressed doubts, highlighting a complex political landscape marked by disputes that ultimately led to the rejection of the operation.
It is worth recalling at this point that President Pavel’s intention was to send this type of aircraft to counter Russian drone attacks, which he expressed as follows: “The Czech Republic can provide, in a relatively short time, several medium combat aircraft that are very effective in fighting drones, and I believe we will manage to resolve this problem quickly and successfully.” Faced with early signs of opposition, he later reduced expectations to the delivery of only four aircraft, stating that this would represent “an acceptable level of risk.”
Looking beyond the L-159 aircraft themselves to other areas where the Czech Republic could contribute to Ukraine’s war effort, Prime Minister Babiš also indicated that the country would continue its role in coordinating the ammunition transfer initiative, but conditioned this on contributions received from abroad. During talks in Paris among members of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing,” the official stated that the initiative would only move forward without committing national funds, calling for financing from other countries and outlining a position distant from those more favorable to Kyiv.
In this context, it is useful to recall that the country has already contributed by sending Soviet-era Mil Mi-24 combat helicopters, of which Prague had a total of 18 units in 2022 and with which Ukrainian pilots were already familiar. In addition, the Czech Republic also completed the transfer of its former T-72M1 tanks to the Ukrainian Army, also obtained from the former USSR after the end of the Cold War and later replaced with German-designed Leopard 2 models—initially the 2A4 variant and, in the near future, the 2A8.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
You may also like: Poland is finalizing details for the transfer of up to 8 MiG-29 fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force
