Czech President allows dozens of Czechs to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine: details emerge

Czech President Petr Pavel has granted permission for 20 citizens of his country to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, another 56 people were denied on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense.

He said this in an interview with the NOVA TV channel. According to the Czech leader, the reason for the rejection of applications for admission to the Armed Forces was the applicants' failure to meet the criteria.

"In the case of some applicants, it is a matter of non-compliance with the conditions, for example, a person should not be subject to criminal proceedings, as this could be a good escape for him or her," he explained.

Pawel added that the ministries of defense and interior are also involved in developing recommendations for refusal or authorization.

"But the thing is that some of these people are in the active reserve. In this case, their absence may disrupt combat capability," he said.

The Czech leader called on the public to continue supporting Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian aggression for two years. According to him, the situation on the battlefield has changed since the beginning of the war. Petr Pavel explained that Russia has learned from its mistakes and is now actively developing its military industry.

He also emphasized that Western countries have a debt to Ukraine and should pay it by providing ammunition and military equipment. In his interview, he expressed the opinion that Western countries are not doing enough, especially in terms of military equipment production.

"The debt of the Western countries to the defending country is that they failed to provide Ukraine with enough quality equipment and ammunition for a successful and rapid counteroffensive," said Pavel.

At the same time, he believes that now "Russia, having plunged into a war with Ukraine, is so weakened that it will not risk entering into any conflict with NATO countries." However, this cannot be ruled out in the future.

As a reminder, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had found 800,000 pieces of artillery ammunition abroad that it could transfer to Ukraine. It is about half a million 155-mm shells and another 300,000 122-mm shells.

As OBOZ.UA reported, the Czech Republic was the first country to send heavy equipment to Ukraine in 2022. Back then, it provided 45 T-72 tanks from army reserves, as well as 131 infantry fighting vehicles, 16 air defense systems, and six helicopters.

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