EU member says it won't finance Ukraine

RT
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 19:08 UTC

© Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

Czech PM Andrej Babis

The Czech Republic will not take part in any financial support of Ukraine, Prime Minister Andrej Babis has said, adding that the bloc must find other ways to continue funding Kiev.

The right-wing Euroskeptic politician, who was appointed prime minister earlier this week, campaigned on prioritizing domestic issues. He has long criticized the extensive aid to Kiev under his predecessor Petr Fiala, whose cabinet launched a major international munitions procurement scheme for Ukraine.

In a video posted to his official Facebook page on Saturday, Babis said he had spoken with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, a vocal opponent of the European Commission's plan to fund Kiev through a so-called "reparations loan" tied to about $200 billion in Russian assets frozen in the bloc. The Commission aims to reach a deal on the scheme next week, but De Wever - whose country hosts the financial clearinghouse Euroclear, where the bulk of the assets are held - has called it tantamount to "stealing" Russian money.

"I agree with him. The European Commission must find other ways to finance Ukraine," Babis said.

Belgium, fearing legal retaliation from Russia, has demanded guarantees from other EU members to share the burden if the funds must eventually be returned. According to Czech media, this could cost Prague about $4.3 billion. Babis said the country simply cannot afford it.

He stated:

"We, as the Czech Republic, need money for Czech citizens, and we don't have money for other countries... we're not going to guarantee anything for [the Commission], and we're not going to give money either, because the coffers are simply empty."

In what is seen as the first step toward advancing the "reparations loan" scheme, the bloc on Friday approved controversial legislation replacing the six-month consensus renewal of the Russian assets freeze with a longer-term arrangement that could shield it from vetoes by opposing states. The move has raised concerns about undermining the EU's core principle that major foreign policy and financial decisions require unanimous consent, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemning it as "unlawful."

Multiple EU states have raised concerns over the loan scheme, citing legal and financial risks. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Friday warned that further funding for Kiev would only prolong the conflict.

Moscow has condemned the "reparations loan" plan as illegal, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it "a grand scam."

Comment: On the flip-side:

A Prague-based military startup is accused of tax evasion after selling remotely piloted aircraft at a 2,000% markup.

Reactive Drone, a company registered in the Czech Republic, is under investigation following a raid after selling drones to the Ukrainian army at prices up to 20 times above market value, Prague International Radio (PIR) reported on Monday, citing the National Centre for Combating Organized Crime (NCOZ).

The Prague-based firm is owned by Konstantin Pilyaev and Ukrainian national Aleksey Kolesnik, who also run a hospitality business in the EU country, RTVI reported on Monday. In Ukraine, the company is viewed as a defense startup supplying the military, including through government contracts, with Chinese agricultural drones and its own designs.

The news comes amid an ongoing corruption scandal in Ukraine, which relies heavily on Western support for its war effort. Earlier this month, anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO said they had uncovered a $100 million kickback scheme involving associates of Vladimir Zelensky in the energy sector, which is largely dependent on Western aid.

NCOZ said Reactive Drone bought the aircraft for 36 million crowns ($1.6 million) and resold them to Ukraine for 692 million crowns (over $33 million), while owing at least 130 million crowns ($6.2 million) in unpaid taxes. Investigators said the director and accountant used fictitious invoices to lower the tax base and that the firm operated from a virtual address with a non-working phone number. Most of the proceeds - 638 million crowns ($30.5 million) - were transferred to bank accounts in China.

Authorities seized about 384 million crowns ($18.3 million) from the company's accounts and arrested Pilyaev, according to RTVI, with the company's accountant admitting to involvement in the scheme. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not respond to PIR's requests for comment.

The EU has been ranked among major suppliers of military aid to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Western arms producers have seen record profits amid the ongoing conflict and the EU's open-ended commitment to continue arming Kiev "for as long as it takes."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that the situation in Ukraine is merely a "card" in a broader geopolitical game for Western countries, a pretext to pursue their own goals and profit from the war.