Czech President Petr Pavel offered Ukraine fighter jets to counter drones, but Premier Andrej Babisz swiftly rejected the proposal.
President Pavel Offers Jets
On Friday, January 16, Czech President Petr Pavel visited Kyiv and met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During a joint press conference, Pavel stated that Prague could provide Ukraine with combat aircraft effective against drones. Reuters reported these would be Czech subsonic L-159 light fighters. Pavel added that Czechs could deliver several medium combat jets quickly and noted the possibility of providing early-warning systems.
Babisz Blocks Proposal
Three days later, on Monday, January 19, Czech Premier Andrej Babisz firmly rejected the president’s plan. After a government meeting, he stated that Prague would neither sell nor transfer planes to Ukraine, emphasizing the Czech military’s need for this equipment. Babisz clarified these planes were unavailable and no others existed, adding that a more pro-Ukraine previous government had also refused to supply jets to Ukraine.
Russia Attacks Ukrainian Infrastructure
Thousands of Kyiv residents suffer from power and heating outages due to repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Radiators have been cold for weeks, with widespread, sometimes multi-day, power cuts. As temperatures drop to minus 10-15°C, Ukraine’s grid operator warns of nationwide power outages lasting up to 14 hours due to severe deficits in transmission networks. Odessa and Chernihiv were targeted overnight, followed by ballistic missile strikes on Kharkiv.