Czechia needs to prepare for possibility of conflict, says army chief of staff

War in Europe is not impossible and there will not be enough time to react unless Czechia prepares for it in the long-term also during peacetime, the Chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff Karel Řehka said at a meeting of commanders at the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, adding that membership in NATO is the best possible deterrent that lowers the possibility of such threats occurring in the first place.

He said that if a conflict between NATO and Russia were to break out, Czechia would be an active participant from the first minute of such a conflict. The Czech Army, in such as case, would fight according to the alliance’s defence plans and Czech territory would become an important transition zone and base for NATO, something that will be up to the country’s soldiers to ensure and maintain.

Defence Minister Jana Černochová, who was also present, said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the most consequential event to affect the security environment since the Second World War and that many preceding governments caved in to the illusion of peace.