Babis believes 'major leaders' must reach agreement to end war in Ukraine
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis stated this in an interview with Denik, Ukrinform reports.
"We can no longer give Ukraine money from the Czech budget, because we do not even have enough for cooks for our schools... A guarantee is essentially a debt, because it is clear that Ukraine will never be able to repay this money," the politician said.
He recalled that Ukraine has received EUR 187 billion, will now receive EUR 100 billion from the new Multiannual Financial Framework, and an additional EUR 90 billion as a loan – a total of EUR 377 billion. According to the prime minister, Czechia sends between CZK 60 and 62 billion (up to EUR 2.5 billion) annually to the EU budget.
"So we are helping with this money," Babis explained.
At the same time, he expressed concern that there was "almost no discussion about peace" at the December summit. According to him, he proposed to French President Emmanuel Macron, who was sitting next to him, to agree on a ceasefire ahead of Christmas, and on February 24, 2026, to agree on the end of the war, peace, and security for all. On the second day after Christmas, December 26, he discussed this with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"Let the major leaders finally arrange this somehow, because 50,000 soldiers are dying there every month. It is absolutely clear that when the war ends, Russia, as the aggressor, must pay reparations. But this is possible only when the war ends... At the same time, we must be realistic: if someone claims that we will defeat Russia, experts say no," Babis noted.
He also stated that the war in Ukraine will not occupy as much space in his government's policy as it did under the previous one, which he said "forgot about Czech citizens", since Czechia "will have no influence on it".
"Unlike the previous government, we will not scare people with war and constantly talk about other countries; we will talk about the Czech Republic... For us, Czechia comes first, and it will remain so for the next four years," Babis emphasized.
As reported earlier, following discussions at the European Council meeting in December, the Czech Republic, unlike Slovakia and Hungary, supported a resolution on support for Ukraine under attack, but refused to guarantee a EUR 90 billion loan for two years.
As Ukrinform reported, in December 2025 Babis said that he has a different position on the EU loan than Orban and Fico.
Photo: Lukas Kabon/AA/picture alliance
