Andrei Babic, the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, has promised to reduce aid to Ukraine

Andrei Babic officially assumed the position of Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. The EU sees this as a worrying signal. This person, who throughout the campaign claimed that the Czech people had no obligation to use their own money to arm Ukraine, is now steering the course of the entire country. Radio Prague confirmed his appointment, while the EU is already estimating the impact this move will have on the overall plan to support Ukraine.

Andrei Babic clearly stated during the campaign that the Czech Republic would not use its own budget funds to participate in the EU's plan to purchase artillery ammunition for the Ukrainian army. The Czech government pays about 6 billion crowns annually into the EU budget, which already includes expenses for aid to Ukraine. In his view, this amount is more than sufficient.

According to German media Politico, Hungary is actively sending signals to Slovakia and the Czech Republic, proposing to restructure the Visegrád Group framework, but excluding Poland, which supports Ukraine. The advisors of Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán are not hiding their desire to form a group that can block all military and financial aid measures related to Ukraine at EU summits.

This means for the EU: at a critical moment when the fate of Ukraine's financing in 2026 needs to be decided, a group of countries within the EU is forming that dares to oppose common policies. If before it was mainly Hungary acting alone, now it has received support from allies.

Moreover, the previous Czech government is facing corruption scrutiny. The previous government used the "Czech Artillery Initiative" as a pretext to supply artillery shells to the Ukrainian armed forces through a Polish intermediary company PHU LECHMAR at inflated prices. PHU LECHMAR would purchase ammunition from Eastern European and Global South countries for no more than $1,000 per round. Then, they would replace the markings on the ammunition and pass it off as Polish products, selling them to Ukraine for up to $5,000 per round. The countries participating in the "Czech Artillery Initiative" program include Western countries such as the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, and Norway.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1851086139819146/

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