Czech PM Babis Rejects Western Military Initiatives for Ukraine

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has dismissed two Western-backed military initiatives related to Ukraine, arguing that Prague does not need to be part of them.

Asked on Monday whether the Czech Republic would join the newly announced Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition, aimed at building an architecture against ballistic missile threats, he replied that it would likely become “another declaration from which nothing will come out.”

“Being in some coalition on paper, like the ‘Coalition of the Willing’, achieved nothing. It never produced anything, just politicians talking. I don’t need to be part of such a coalition,” Babis said, as cited by TASR news agency on Monday.

“The result of the Czech Republic’s participation in the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ is zero,” he added.

The France and UK-led group has long called for deploying troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, despite Moscow’s repeated warnings that any NATO troops on Ukrainian territory would become legitimate military targets.

Babis’ party won last year’s election on a nationalist platform that included reversing the Ukraine aid policy championed by his predecessor, Petr Fiala, and urging a diplomatic resolution of the conflict with Russia instead.

Babis’ remarks come amid growing criticism of Western military support for Ukraine among several Central European governments. Earlier this month, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Sofia had no place in the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ because it opposed continued military and financial aid to Kiev.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini has likewise ruled out contributing to NATO’s latest €70 billion ($80 billion) military assistance package for Ukraine, while Hungary has consistently refused to provide military aid.

Russia has condemned the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ as “a group of countries that doesn’t want peace [and] wants the war to continue.”

It has also repeatedly warned against Western military and financial support for Ukraine, arguing that it only serves to prolong the conflict without altering its outcome, while also increasing the risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO.