Czech Republic joins Ukraine arms funding program for first time

The Czech government has announced plans to allocate funding to the PURL program for the procurement of US-made weapons for Ukraine, marking the first time Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s government has committed financial support to a military assistance initiative for Kyiv.

According to Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macek, Prague is considering redirecting funds from existing Ukraine-related projects into the PURL initiative, under which allied countries finance the purchase of American military equipment for Ukraine, CT24 reports.

"We are now considering redirecting funding from some projects that are financed from our budget for Ukraine to the PURL program," Macek told reporters ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.

According to Deník N, the foreign minister is expected to formally present the policy shift during a dinner meeting of NATO and Ukrainian foreign ministers on July 8.

The move has faced opposition from Babiš’s coalition partner, the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, which has criticized Czech participation in the initiative.

"This issue has never been discussed by the coalition council. This is the foreign minister’s decision," SPD spokesperson Lenka Čejková said.

Czech President Petr Pavel welcomed the government’s signal of support, saying Prague’s participation would represent a positive development.

"The Czech Republic was one of the few countries that had not signed up to this process. If this happens now, it will certainly be a positive signal," Pavel said.

Since Babiš returned to office at the end of 2025, the Czech government has not approved new military aid packages for Ukraine or made additional financial commitments to support Kyiv.

A day earlier, Babiš said the Czech Republic would not block a NATO decision to provide Ukraine with €70 billion in annual military assistance for 2026–2027. However, he stressed that Prague would not take on additional financial obligations for Ukraine at the NATO summit.

By Vafa Guliyeva