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Secretary Blinken thanked Minister Černochová for aid the Czech Republic provides to Ukraine

Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

Author: by David Polák, editorial staff
7.6.2024

Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Jana Černochová welcomed the Secretary of State of the United Stated of America Antony Blinken at the Prague-Kbely Air Force Base. Secretary Blinken thanked the Czech Republic for providing aid to Ukraine to repel the Russian attack. Secretary Blinken was also shown examples of armaments and equipment delivered to the country to fight Russian aggression.

"It is the responsibility of the democratic world to provide Armed Forces of Ukraine with everything they need to defend themselves. The Czech Republic has supported Ukraine since the very beginning of the conflict and has provided tanks and combat vehicles, as well as attack helicopters. We are now working to provide hundreds of thousands pieces of vital artillery ammunition. The support of the United States and our close cooperation are of critical importance," said the Minister and thanked Secretary Blinken. The United States largely compensated the Czech Republic for its deliveries to Ukraine. "The compensation includes eight H-1 helicopters and over US$ 300 million in funding. This means U.S. support enables us not only to help Ukraine but also to implement the largest modernisation of the Czech Armed Forces in modern history," Minister Černochová emphasized.

An overview of the equipment delivered to Ukraine was presented to Secretary Blinken at the Kbely Air Base, including the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, BRDM-rch armoured vehicle, DANA self-propelled howitzer and other materiel and equipment. "The Czech Republic shows what true alliance means through the extraordinary work in support of Ukraine in a moment of great need, as it faces the ongoing Russian aggression. This effort materializes in the form of training Ukrainian forces and provision of military equipment. We're also gratified by the relationship between the United States and Czechia when it comes to defence, including the acquisition of twenty-four F-35 planes and of course the Defence Cooperation Agreement that we signed just a few months ago. All of that is a powerful demonstration of our partnership and our alliance in action," Secretary Blinken underlined.

Apart from the provision of military materiel, the Czech Republic also focuses on the training of Ukrainian service members. Last year, over 4,300 were trained in the Czech Republic and the plan for this year is to train over 4,000.