Czech president authorizes 66 citizens to join Ukrainian army

Czech President Petr Pavel has authorized 66 Czech citizens to go to fight in Ukraine, the president’s press secretary Filip Platoš said.

In total, more than 180 people applied for permission. It is unknown how many Czechs are on the Ukrainian front, as some of them went to fight in Ukraine without permission, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

According to the Czech Defense Ministry, the current mandate for the participation of Czech armed forces in foreign operations allows sending no more than 35 soldiers to Ukraine solely to protect the Czech Republic's diplomatic interests or to participate in the investigation of possible crimes committed during the Ukrainian conflict.

Earlier, on 3 October, the Czech arms concern Czechoslovak Group (CSG) signed an agreement with the Ukrainian Armored Equipment company to produce 155 mm artillery ammunition. The company plans to produce 100,000 ammunition in 2025 and 300,000 ammunition in 2026. On the same day, Ukrainian ambassador to Prague Vasyl Zvarych said that Kyiv had already received more than a third of the 500,000 ammunition units that the Czech Republic plans to supply by the end of the year.

Western countries have increased their military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which started on 24 February 2022. It was decided by Russian President Vladimir Putin because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.

By Khagan Isayev