Babiš says Czechia would send two brigades to support Baltic states

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says Czechia would send two mechanised brigades to support NATO allies if Russia attacked a Baltic state, ERR reported.

In a video interview with Czech outlet Deník.cz, Babiš said his government was addressing security concerns, including in talks with President Petr Pavel. He said Czechia was preparing for such a possibility but would not disclose classified information.

Babiš said one brigade would come from Prostějov and the other from Tábor. He said the deployment would be part of Czechia’s obligations under Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty.

His government includes a party described in the article as pro-Russian and anti-immigration. It has halted Czech participation in military aid to Ukraine and decided to withdraw from participation in EU and NATO funding and military aid pledges to Kyiv. Babiš has also been criticised for saying during the 2023 presidential campaign that he would not send Czech soldiers to fight for allies.

Article 5 treats an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all, but does not require every member to take the same military action; each country decides what measures it considers necessary. Western European governments and intelligence services have warned of a growing risk of intensified Russian hybrid attacks, including sabotage, or a limited military attack. Babiš said earlier this month that Russia was waging hybrid warfare against Czechia. Moscow has denied planning a confrontation or taking part in hybrid warfare and sabotage operations.