The Defence Ministers of the countries united in the so-called Coalition of the Willing and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) met in Brussels to discuss further support of Ukraine. While the Coalition of the Willing primarily addresses the question of a possible military engagement in Ukraine in case a truce or peace is negotiated, the UDCG addressed Ukraine’s urgent needs in regard of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s (AFU) support. That includes the supplies of artillery ammunition, which are the focal point of the Czech ammunition initiative. Defence Minister Jana Černochová represented the Czech Republic at both events with Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces Lieutenant General Karel Řehka.
In the past weeks, the Coalition of the Willing led by the United Kingdom and France held talks in various formats on both the political and military level. The Defence Ministers’ meeting, however, took place for the first time. The representatives of the Defence Ministries of thirty countries met in the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. “The more members the Coalition of the Willing has, the stronger a message we can send to Russia but also to the US and Ukraine,” Minister Černochová said.
The participants of the meeting expressed readiness and determination to continue supporting Ukraine. Military planning regarding possible force deployment is currently underway. Minister Černochová emphasized that any decision regarding a deployment of Czech service members is contingent on better clarity of specific truce conditions and other factors, for example the extent of other states’ involvement.
According to Minister Černochová, any eventual force deployment should primarily practically benefit Ukraine and should help regenerate and expand its own defence capacities. “A strong and fully armed Ukraine is key to deterring any future Russian attack,” she said. The UDCG organised by Germany and the United Kingdom, followed up on the first session. The aim of the session was to discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the next steps in both the short-term and long-term support of AFU.
“Our common goal is clear – to get Ukraine into the best possible negotiating position. Russian goals are clear as well – to prolong warfighting and gain as much territory as possible. By increasing Ukraine’s support, we are not prolonging the war but the other way around,” Minister Černochová said.
Minister Černochová informed the Allies of the current artillery rounds supply under the Czech ammunition initiative and asked them for further support. The initiative’s funding is now covered until the autumn. Thanks to the Czech ammunition initiative, Ukraine has received 1.5 million artillery rounds last year, one third of which were the 155 mm calibre. More than 400 thousand large-calibre shells have been provided this year by the ammunition initiative whose effort will further continue. The ammunition initiative was one of the topics of the bilateral meeting between Minister Černochová and her Belgian counterpart, Minister Theo Francken. Minister Francken expressed a high interest in strengthening defence and security cooperation and Minister Černochová invited him to attend the IDET fair in Brno.
At the end of the UDCG session, the Letter of Intent for a Capability Coalition for Electromagnetic Warfare involving almost twenty countries was signed. Its aim is to improve Ukraine’s and NATO nations’ capabilities in this area. The member nations want to cooperate, for example, on joint systems acquisition and testing, on acquiring materiel for Ukraine, as well as training and education.
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