The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, visited the Czech Republic several times before the full-scale war with Russia began, according to Czech government official Tomasz Kopechny, who previously worked with Ukraine in the Czech Ministry of Defense.
Kopechny said that cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic and the General Staff of Ukraine began to develop more actively in December 2021. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny visited Prague in January and February 2022. These visits preceded the invasion of Russia, and their purpose was to discuss issues of military cooperation.
In his address to Radio Svoboda, Kopechny also reported that the Czech Republic provided Ukraine with the first multiple rocket launcher system (RSV) already on the fourth day of the Russian invasion - February 27, 2022. It is noted that the cost of this system was paid by the Czech government.
"What we discussed was a list of equipment that could be delivered free of charge because it was in the military reserves of the Czech army," explained Kopechny. According to him, this initiative became part of the formation of an international structure for the coordination of arms supplies to Ukraine, known as the Ramstein format.
