PRAGUE (Reuters) -Ending a Czech initiative to deliver ammunition to Ukraine would hurt the Czech Republic, as well as Kyiv’s defence against Russia, Czech President Petr Pavel said after weekend elections were won by a party that has said it wanted to end the program.
ANO, the populist opposition party of billionaire former Prime Minister Andrej Babis emerged as the winner of Saturday’s parliamentary election, gaining 80 out of 200 seats in the lower house. It is now holding talks with parties to secure a majority.
Before the election, Babis had said he would end the Czech ammunition drive, calling it overpriced and untransparent. He says the European Union and NATO should handle it.
“If we were to reduce or even end this support, we would primarily harm ourselves, but ending this support would also have a negative impact on Ukraine, if many more lost their lives,” Pavel said on Monday.
The ammunition drive, which pulls together traders and defence officials from around the world to find millions of artillery rounds for Kyiv with financing from Western nations, was the flagship support program for Ukraine under the outgoing government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
Pavel, a former NATO high official, has been a strong supporter of the initiative.
The support has been praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Pavel said Babis could get access to look closer at the initiative to see how it worked.
“I assume that both with Andrej Babis, and with the representatives of the other parties, we will bear in mind above all the interest of the Czech Republic, our allies and partners such as Ukraine, and we will not damage them nor ourselves,” Pavel said.
The Czech government had expected the number of shipments from the ammunition drive to rise this year, after deliveries of 1.5 million pieces, including 500,000 155mm shells, in 2024.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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