Tluček ☂️

He extended a helping hand when Ukraine was almost on its knees. Petr Pavel. A man who stood up for Ukraine’s right to defend itself. February 2024. Ukraine was facing a critical shortage of artillery ammunition. For every 20 Russian artillery shells fired, Ukraine could answer with only one. Twenty to one. And then he stepped forward — Petr Pavel. Right at the Munich Security Conference, he presented something that very few European leaders believed was even possible. He found a way to secure 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine. Just think about that number — 800,000. At a time when many European countries were proudly announcing deliveries of 1,000 or 2,000 shells. At first, Pavel’s idea seemed unrealistic and populist to many. But Petr knew how to persuade people, and soon several countries joined his side. That was the beginning of the “Czech Initiative.” By June 2024, Ukraine received the first ammunition shipments under this program. It is hard to say where Russian forces would be today if not for those precious shells. But they undoubtedly played a key role in slowing the Russian offensives throughout 2024 and 2025. In total, since the launch of this initiative, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have received more than 4 million shells of various calibers. The scale is truly staggering. And it wasn’t only about ammunition. The Czech Republic also supported Ukraine in many other ways. By 2025, Czechia had completed the transfer of all of its operational Soviet-made T-72M1 tanks to Ukraine. Not one or two — all of them. And that’s still not all. A country of just 10.5 million people welcomed around 400,000 Ukrainian refugees. This became the highest per-capita figure among all EU countries and Ukraine’s allies. There are also even more remarkable things happening behind the scenes that cannot yet be discussed publicly. But today, we simply want to say thank you to all Czechs — and especially to Petr Pavel — for the help, for the humanity, and for truly helping save us at a critical moment. 🇨🇿🤝🇺🇦