Czech Republic to Allocate €2.5 Million to NATO-Ukraine Trust Fund
The Czech Republic has announced the allocation of EUR 2.5 million to the NATO trust fund for non-military assistance to Ukraine. This was reported by the Czech news agency Česke noviny.
The decision was made at a meeting of the Czech government on 29 November.
According to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the proposal takes into account the need in the current foreign policy context to reflect the growing complexity of the international security situation in intensifying efforts to keep support for Ukraine among the priorities of the Euro-Atlantic community.
The Trust Fund has been operating since 2016 and is an instrument of non-military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, it provides goods such as fuel, medicines, food, winter clothing and drone defence systems.
At the July NATO summit in Vilnius, the Czech Foreign Ministry announced its continued support for Ukraine and the extension of the trust fund for many years. The fund is aimed at reforming the security and defence sector and transitioning the Ukrainian armed forces to full cooperation with NATO.
"This decision was also made in view of Ukraine's future membership in NATO, the prospect of which was significantly strengthened by the Allies at the Vilnius Summit with the support of the Czech Republic," the diplomatic ministry said.
In addition to the United States, France and Italy, most NATO members, as well as partners of the Alliance, such as Japan, contribute to the fund.
Currently, the total annual contribution to the fund is expected to reach €500 million, of which the Czech Republic will contribute about €5 million. "A contribution of this size was announced by President Petr Pavel at the talks before the NATO summit in Vilnius, as well as at the summit itself during the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council," the ministry said.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the Czech Republic has contributed almost €9.4 million to the fund.
The day before, Germany announced an additional contribution to the NATO-Ukraine Trust Fund in the amount of 11.5 million euros.
In 2015, the NATO-Ukraine Trust Funds were launched to strengthen Kyiv's interoperability with the Alliance in various areas. These funds are planned to be merged into one after Russia's full-scale invasion.