Czech Republic will continue to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine, - Lipavsky
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky confirmed that his country will continue to provide Ukraine with comprehensive support at various levels.
According to Censor.NET, citing the Czech Foreign Ministry, Lipavsky assured this during a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga at talks in Prague on May 5.
"Of course, I assured Minister Sybiga that the Czech Republic's participation in the ammunition initiative for Ukraine continues and that funding is secured until September of this year. In 2024, we supplied Ukraine with about 1.5 million large-caliber ammunition. Thus, we have become one of the main suppliers along with the United States and the United Kingdom," Lipavsky said.
The ministers also briefed each other on efforts in the peace process, including the status of Ukraine's negotiations with the United States and the activities of the "coalition of the willing."
"Russia refuses to cease fire and continues to bomb Ukraine. We must maintain the pressure of sanctions, work within the "coalition of the willing" and continue to provide ammunition and rebuild Ukraine," Lipavsky emphasized.
It is also noted that Czech assistance to Ukraine continues through programs funded under the Instrument for Ukraine or the Intergovernmental Agreement on Technical and Financial Cooperation with Ukraine. The European Commission approved the application for financing Czech programs under the Instrument for Ukraine in March this year. These programs are the Guarantee for Ukraine's Recovery program, which aims to restore critical infrastructure, worth CZK 4.6 billion, and the Reconstruction and Modernization of Hospitals program, worth CZK 3.5 billion.
In turn, Sybiha praised Czech defense support for Ukraine and emphasized the effective Czech-Ukrainian cooperation focused on ammunition and drones. Last year, several specific projects in the defense industry were launched in Ukraine, including joint production of ammunition, production of small-caliber ammunition, and rifle assembly. But the cooperation also works in the opposite direction: one of the Ukrainian companies is transferring the development and production of drones to the Czech Republic, which will contribute to the development of the Czech economy.
To recap, Foreign Ministers Andrii Sybiha of Ukraine and Jan Lipavsky of the Czech Republic met in Prague to discuss the prospects for a just peace and increased pressure on Russia.
