The Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has definitively rejected the possibility of selling light attack aircraft of the L-159 ALCA type to Ukraine and has thus put an end to a political debate which has gained momentum in the country in recent weeks.
The information was brought by iDNES.cz, which followed the statements of the head of government. According to Babiš, the discussions on the subject have been “artificially created” and do not correspond to reality. “There is no L-159 and there will be no L-159. This matter is closed,” the Prime Minister stated, thus ruling out any possibility of transferring the planes.
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The Prime Minister also publicly criticized the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Karel Řehka, who had stated that it would be technically possible to deliver four aircraft to Ukraine without weakening the country’s defense capabilities. For Babiš, however, such an assessment does not correspond to a political decision.
Along the same lines, Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna emphasized that the L-159s remain necessary for the Czech army, which the government uses as an argument to reject any sale or transfer to Kiev.
Government representatives emphasized that decisions on the transfer of weapons do not belong to the armed forces, but exclusively to the political leadership. According to the government, the military’s role is to provide technical and professional assessments. Even when these analyzes point to the possibility of transferring certain equipment, this does not mean that the equipment is considered surplus or redundant. In such cases, it is up to the government to either formally approve an exception on the “uselessness” of the material or to veto the sale or donation.
The topic gained increased attention after Czech President Petr Pavel mentioned the possibility of transferring the planes during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on January 16, 2026 in Kiev. Shortly afterwards, however, the governing coalition formally rejected any decision in that direction.
With Babiš’s statements, the Czech government seeks to close the debate and emphasize that there are no plans to deliver L-159 aircraft to Ukraine, despite the technical assessments presented by military circles.
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