Czech Republic blocks sale of L-159 combat aircraft to Ukraine

The ruling coalition of the Czech Republic did not support the transfer of Aero L-159 ALCA combat aircraft to Ukraine and effectively blocked their sale to Kyiv.

This is reported by the Czech news agency ČTK.

The decision was made at a special meeting attended by representatives of the ANO, SPD and AUTO parties. The Czech Ministry of Defense stated that these aircraft remain critically important for the national Armed Forces.

Defense Minister Jaromir Zuna explained that this is not about surplus equipment, but about aircraft that will continue to perform combat and training missions. According to him, the L-159s can remain in service with the Czech army for at least another 15 years.

Czech Prime Minister and leader of the ANO movement Andrej Babis publicly supported the Ministry of Defense’s position and rejected the claim that the aircraft were sitting idle.

He stated that the Czech Republic is aware of Ukraine’s needs for aviation equipment, but currently does not have the opportunity to transfer these aircraft, as they are involved in its own defense system.

The coalition’s decision means that in the near future, the Czech Republic will not transfer L-159 aircraft to Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s request and previous signals about the possibility of discussing such a move.

At the same time, the Czech government does not reject other formats of military assistance to Ukraine, in particular through joint projects with allies or the supply of equipment from industrial reserves, rather than from the active army.

It was previously reported that in Prague, the three-party ruling coalition of the Czech Republic is discussing the possibility of transferring L-159 aircraft to Ukraine, which has sparked debate among some politicians.

As a reminder, Poland has agreed to transfer less than ten MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine as part of military assistance to protect against full-scale Russian aggression.

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