Czechia drops 'not a single crown' pledge to fund Ukraine arms

The Czech Republic will begin contributing funds to a US-backed initiative that purchases weapons for Ukraine, reversing a firm government position held since taking office last October. Foreign Affairs Minister Petr Macinka confirmed the policy shift shortly before departing for the Nato summit in Ankara.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his ANO-led coalition had previously refused to finance arms for Kyiv. "We will not give Ukraine a single crown from the budget for weapons," the government explicitly declared in October 2025.

Under the new plan, Prague will redirect existing mandatory budget commitments towards Ukraine into the PURL programme. "We are now dealing with the fact that some projects which are mandatory in our budget towards Ukraine, we intend to redirect precisely into this PURL programme, yes," Macinka said. This mechanism functions exclusively as a tool for Nato allies to fund the purchase of American weapons for the Ukrainian military.

Until now, the Czech Republic had neither participated in the PURL programme nor registered for it. The exact financial scope of the contribution remains unclear, as the foreign ministry had not specified which mandatory projects would be affected. Macinka was expected to formally outline the change at a dinner of Nato and Ukrainian foreign ministers on Tuesday, 7 July.

For European defence economics, the move represents a direct channeling of Czech public funds into the US defence industrial base. Rather than procuring from European manufacturers, Prague is effectively using its mandatory Ukraine aid budget to buy American arms.

The abrupt reversal was driven by direct pressure from Washington. American Ambassador Nicholas Merrick had publicly urged Prague to start sending money to the programme, a request Babiš initially rejected.

However, US officials delivered a sharper private message to the Czech government two weeks ago. They instructed Prague not to explain its failures at the Ankara summit, but to offer a solution instead.

"They stressed to us that we should avoid political commentary and stop asking for tolerance from the US," a high-ranking source familiar with the meeting said. "They stressed that we should start meeting our commitments and say how we would achieve that."

The change of heart allows the Czech delegation to attend the Ankara summit without a public rift. The gathering is expected to produce a joint communique committing allies to increased sanctions against Russia and additional support for Ukraine's air defences.