The scandal in the Oval Office during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance at the White House in late February caused a huge wave of solidarity with Ukraine in the Czech Republic. Within just a few days, donations amounting to hundreds of millions of crowns were collected for the country. The donations continue even after the calm in relations between the US and Ukraine.
Czechs donate millions of euros to Ukraine
The Czech Republic, which after Germany and Poland has accepted the largest number of Ukrainian refugees, is one of the most active countries in Europe in terms of support for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, Czech citizens have donated almost 300 million euros.
The Czechs have donated funds not only for humanitarian aid, but also for weapons - since the beginning of the war, they have transferred millions of euros to a special account of the Ukrainian embassy in Prague. They have been used to finance the purchase of ammunition and weapons for the Ukrainian army, mainly Czech-made.
After that, Czech NGOs also began to organize actions. The "Gift for Putin" initiative has been particularly successful. It has provided the Ukrainian army with 1,500 drones, 4,500 missiles, as well as heavy weapons such as rocket launchers, tanks and military helicopters.
The White House row, in which Trump and De Vance humiliated Zelensky, has triggered a new wave of donations. "On the first day after the incident, we received seven million crowns, i.e. "almost three hundred thousand euros," Jan Polak from the "Gift for Putin" initiative told DW. In the following days, ten and twenty times larger amounts were received.
A tank and a Black Hawk helicopter
Unlike many other donation initiatives, "Gift for Putin" explicitly states that the donations are used to buy weapons. "We say it unequivocally: our priority is the purchase of weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian army," Polak emphasizes. "When the fighting stops, we are ready to focus our activities on supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine."
Behind the organization is entrepreneur Dalibor Dedek, who is among the richest Czechs with a fortune of 200 million euros. He owns the security systems company Jabltron and has personally invested two million euros in the launch of the "Gift for Putin" initiative. "I am proud of how many people in our country are donating money to help Ukraine," Dedek told DW. His organization has already raised over one billion crowns (39 million euros) for weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.
The donations have been used to buy a T72 tank for 1.2 million euros, 15 jeeps equipped with weapons to shoot down Russian drones, and an RM-70 rocket launcher. In the meantime, the initiative has also raised enough money to buy a Black Hawk helicopter for the Ukrainian secret services. The organization is providing the money raised to the Ukrainian embassy in Prague, which is handling the purchases. They are mainly from Czech arms factories, explains Polak.
25,000 "Nemesis" drones
A similar initiative is "Group D - Nemesis Drones", created by Czech aircraft modelers and war veterans. Their face is a famous Czech actor, and they are supported by the Chief of the General Staff of the Army and the Chief of the Presidential Military Bureau. The initiative raises money for highly specialized reconnaissance drones for the Ukrainian army. It has already accumulated ten million euros, which corresponds to the price of almost 25,000 drones. After the scandal in the Oval Office, this initiative also reports an increase in donations.
The largest humanitarian organization in the Czech Republic, "Person in Need", is also registering greater solidarity. In the week of the scandal in the White House, the organization received 20 million kronor, or 800,000 euros. "This is 20 times more than in a normal week," Thomas Vinhalek from "Person in Need" told DW.
"Person in Need" provides humanitarian aid not only in Ukraine, but also throughout the world - currently mainly in Syria and Congo. Therefore, the organization knows very well what terrible consequences the suspension of American development aid can have. "The termination of most aid measures by the American government endangers the lives of millions of people around the world," wrote in a letter to donors, "Person in Need" director Simon Panek. "People die without food aid, the sick do not receive medication, malnourished children have no chance of recovery. Defenders of human rights and freedoms were suddenly left without the necessary support."
Three years after the start of the war against Ukraine, a decline in solidarity was registered in the Czech Republic. Polls from January 2025 showed that only 43 percent of Czechs were interested in the events in Ukraine, i.e. 14 percent less than a year earlier.
58 percent of Czechs had expressed the opinion that the Czech government helps Ukraine and Ukrainians too much. But these considerations have apparently been abandoned after the scandal in the White House, to which the Czechs reacted with an unusual willingness to donate.
The favorite for the autumn elections is the movement of Andrej Babis, who wants to limit aid to Ukraine and insists on an end to the war, even on terms that are favorable to Kiev. But the new development raises doubts about whether Babis will find enough support.
Author: Lubos Palata