Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Jana Černochová met the Minister of Strategic Industry of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin and Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk as part of government-to-government consultations to discuss the current security situation and its development, support to Ukraine and bilateral cooperation in the field of defence industry.
This was the second G2G meeting between Ukraine and the Czech Republic which has been supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggression on a sustained basis, both through delivery of military materiel and through the training of Ukrainian units in the Czech territory. “The Czech Republic continues to support Ukraine. It is also a matter of our own security. Russian victory would be catastrophic both for the security of the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe and it would have an immense global impact. If we want to be taken seriously as a Western country, we need to persist in our support and exhaust Russia to a point where they will be willing to hold constructive peace negotiations,” said Minister Černochová.
With its aid to Ukraine, the Czech Republic currently focuses on the ammunition initiative for which it has summoned a broad international support. The initiative so far generated financial resources for the acquisition of approximately 500 thousand artillery shells, of which the first 45 thousand rounds were delivered to Ukraine in June. Further deliveries shall continue in the upcoming months.
The Minister also underscored the Czech role in the training of Ukrainian forces held in the Czech territory under the auspices of the European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine. Last year, over 4,000 service members were trained and the plan for this year is the same. So far, 1,700 soldiers finished their training this year. “We deeply appreciate combat experience shared by Ukraine and we will be interested in it in the future as well. Through the support of Ukraine, we learn a lot to improve our own defence capability,” says the Minister.
In the field of defence industrial cooperation, numerous projects have been developed which include the transfer of technology to Ukraine. “The Ministry of Defence strives to focus our aid on meeting urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine but also to support them in the long run and in the industrial sector,” said Minister Černochová. She added that the Czech Republic aims at including Ukraine in activities which are currently being developed by the EU through the European defence industry. Ukrainian firms could thus for example participate in EU’s upcoming programs for the support of the defence industry.
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