The minister recalled that after the Russian army invaded Ukraine in February, she met with representatives of the defence industry and asked them to be as cooperative as possible and do as much as possible to help the invaded country.

Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová (ODS, ECR) met with representatives of the Czech arms industry on Wednesday and told journalists that the Czech Republic could become an arms superpower because of the war in Ukraine.

The minister recalled that after the Russian army invaded Ukraine in February, she met with representatives of the defence industry and asked them to be as cooperative as possible and help the invaded country.

“The export of Czech military equipment to Ukraine amounts to over CZK 47 billion (€ 1.9 billion). Last year it was CZK 14 billion (€571,000 million) in comparison,” Černochová said.

Industry representatives did not want to comment on what material was going to Ukraine for security reasons. According to the minister, it is primarily heavy equipment, short and long weapons and ammunition.

“The war in Ukraine has given the Czech Republic the opportunity to return to the spotlight, and it is returning to the spotlight in a way that is recognised by our partners in the Alliance, the European Union and is also perceived by Ukraine,” Černochová added.

Moreover, Czechs are very active in crowdfunding money for Ukraine. For example, they sent roughly €53 million to the Ukrainian embassy in Prague, as Seznam Zprávy reported. There is also an ongoing campaign called “The Gift for Putin”, which raised enough money to buy an armoured tank for the Ukrainian army.

However, Czech arms industry representatives warned that further development of the sector might be limited due to high energy prices.

(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)