Czech Republic Ships More Modernized T-72 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine

Representatives from more than a dozen countries that provide military assistance to Ukraine gathered again today at the American airbase in Ramstein, Germany. The meeting of the so-called Contact Defense Group is hosted by American Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin, with Deputy Minister of Defense Daniel Blakovec representing the Czech Republic. This time, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov also attended the conference and briefed the allies on the current state of the fighting. Because the ensuing months would be critical to the war’s fate, the Allies agreed to increase the pace of relief.

In the Czech Republic, we combine the maximum number of donations from the Czech Army’s stocks, purchases from government funds, crowdfunding, and commercial supplies. Thanks to cooperation with our Ukrainian and foreign partners, we still have concrete projects that can be implemented quickly and are on the list of priorities for Ukraine,” deputy Daniel Blakovec explained, adding that Prague’s priority remains to respond to the Ukrainian armed forces’ urgent needs as soon as possible.

Since the commencement of the invasion, the Czech Republic has been one of the largest sources of military aid, with weekly consultations. The Czech Republic is now primarily focused on the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle (BVP-2 in Czech), tanks, large-caliber ammunition, electronic warfare, ISR (intelligence surveillance reconnaissance), and air defense.37 modernized T-72 tanks have already been supplied to Ukraine as part of a tripartite initiative with the United States and the Netherlands to supply more than 90 tanks, with more being added every month. “We propose adding dozens more to the production rate if the partners are interested in financing this project,” AMOS director Ale Vyteka added.

Furthermore, the Czech Republic is willing to negotiate the development of a heavy equipment maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility within the framework of the state company VOP and several private enterprises. Another type of help focuses on personnel training, among other things. It is expected to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of this year. Mobile teams of instructors have already gone to Poland, in addition to all-military and specialized training on our territory. Under the auspices of the International Criminal Court, fifteen military police officers will probe war crimes in Ukraine with the Dutch.