The Czech Republic will transfer two air defense systems "Kub" to Ukraine

The Czech Republic may also consider transferring L-159 fighter jets to Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel said, writes dw.com.

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The Czech Republic will transfer to Ukraine two anti-aircraft missile complexes (SAMS) "Kub" and missiles for them, and may also consider the transfer of L-159 fighters to Kyiv. This was stated by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, on Wednesday, May 10, in an interview with the Czech Public Radio.

"There are currently two Kub anti-aircraft systems in the delivery stage with a relatively large number of missiles, which Ukraine can immediately use, as it has military personnel trained in the use of this type of equipment," České noviny writes, referring to Pavel's words.

The Soviet air defense system "Kub" is used to fight air targets at medium and low altitudes. The Czech Republic plans to replace the Cube with Israeli-made SPYDER missile systems, the publication writes.

Czech fighters L-159

Also, according to Pavel, it is advisable to consider the issue of providing Ukraine with Czech L-159 fighters. "They, as direct air support aircraft, could significantly help Ukraine in a counteroffensive," he noted.

The Czech president noted that Western countries have not yet supplied modern fighter jets to Ukraine, because preparation for their use takes a relatively long time and they contain secret systems. However, according to him, negotiations on the transfer of such fighters to Ukraine are ongoing.

The L-159 is a Czech-made light multi-purpose attack aircraft designed for air support of ground troops, reconnaissance, and partly for the performance of combat missions in the air.

The Czech Republic is among the main suppliers of arms to Kyiv

In the course of 2022, Ukraine took third place in terms of global arms imports, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute SIPRI, which studies global trends in this market. In the list of the largest importers, Ukraine was second only to Qatar and India. This happened thanks to the armed assistance of the partner countries.

Of the 29 countries that supplied arms to Ukraine last year, the main ones were the USA — 35 percent of the total arms imports to Ukraine came from American partners. Poland came second (17 percent), in third place was Germany (11 percent), followed by Great Britain (10 percent) and the Czech Republic (4,4 percent) rounded out the top five.

As Pavel reminded, Ukraine received from the Czech Republic about 100 tanks, the same number of armored vehicles, as well as ammunition.

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