Czechia Profits From Helping Ukraine, Fiala Says

The Czech Republic has demonstrated that supporting Ukraine is not only morally and politically important, but also economically beneficial.

The Gaze reports on this, citing Ceske Noviny.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the total amount of aid to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war was $4.57 billion (91.3 billion CZK). 

Despite the significant costs, the financial balance for the Czech Republic turned out to be positive. Through tax revenues, social and medical contributions, and compensation for military aid, the state received $635 million (12.7 billion CZK) more than it spent. 

This allowed Fiala to declare that aid to Ukraine did not become a burden on the economy.

Fiala emphasized that security and moral aspects are of primary importance to the Czech Republic, as support for Ukraine is an investment in the stability of Europe. 

“The Czech state is definitely not losing money by helping Ukraine, quite the contrary. Of course, this is not the most important thing in this whole matter. We must not ignore the aspect of justice and the just struggle of the Ukrainians, the aspects of security and everything else, but the figures speak very clearly,” Fiala said.

However, financial data has become a powerful counterargument against politicians who claim that supporting Ukraine is allegedly harmful to the Czech Republic.

The example of the Czech healthcare system is particularly telling, as contributions from Ukrainian refugees have brought in over $1.2 billion, while spending on their medical care amounted to less than half that amount. 

According to Fiala, this is just one of many areas where aid to Ukraine has brought tangible benefits to the Czech Republic, which is important to consider in domestic political debates.

Deputy Prime Minister Vít Rakušan said that there are currently 170,000 Ukrainians in the legal labor market in the Czech Republic. 

“These people will repay us many times over. We are the most successful in the EU in terms of how we integrate refugees into the workforce,” he said. 

The Czech Republic has always been one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in Europe, both at the government level and through the efforts of its citizens. The Czech government consistently backs military, humanitarian, and political initiatives that help Ukraine, while volunteer and community organizations regularly raise money to buy weapons for Ukraine.

Earlier, the Czech Republic announced the construction and transfer of a modern observation satellite to Ukraine that this will allow to effectively monitor its territory even at night or in adverse weather conditions. The Czech Republic also provided Ukraine with hundreds of cogeneration power units capable of supplying energy to hospitals, residential areas, and other critical facilities amid ongoing Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure. 

Czech civil society is also actively involved in supporting Ukraine. For example, the Darek pro Putina (“Gift for Putin”) initiative has once again distinguished itself, raising funds in just a few days not only for one, but for two Ukrainian Flamingo long-range missiles. 

This is far from the first success of the initiative. Previously, it financed a refurbished Black Hawk UH-60 helicopter for Ukraine, as well as purchasing a modernized T-72 “Tomáš” tank and an RM-70 “Přemysl” rocket system. 

As The Gaze reported earlier, a large-scale campaign called CHARLIE ONE has been launched in the Czech Republic to raise funds for the purchase of interceptor drones for Ukraine, led by the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, General Karel Řehka.