The Czech Republic is prepared to fulfil its NATO commitments and deploy troops to assist the Baltic states in the event of a Russian attack, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said.
According to Babiš, Prague is actively assessing potential security threats and preparing for possible scenarios, with officials holding regular consultations with President Petr Pavel.
“The fact that we are not talking about it and journalists are not getting material for their articles does not mean we are not working on it. Of course, we are preparing. God forbid Russia attacks one of the Baltic states. In that case, under Article 5, we would have to deploy our two mechanised brigades,” Babiš said.
The Czech prime minister has previously stressed that European leaders should focus their efforts on diplomatic solutions and promoting peace. During the 2023 presidential election campaign, however, Babiš faced sharp criticism after saying he would not send Czech soldiers to fight for NATO allies in the event of Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, concerns over Russian hybrid threats are growing in other parts of Europe. According to reports, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has warned European countries that Russia is allegedly preparing a maritime operation similar to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb.
Three European countries in the Mediterranean region Spain, France and Italy have reportedly been identified as potential targets of Russian maritime sabotage involving drone attacks. All three countries are active supporters of Ukraine, and Moscow is reportedly seeking to increase pressure on them through hybrid warfare tactics. According to the reported intelligence, Russia could conceal drones inside shipping containers and launch them directly from vessels at sea. Such an operation would potentially allow Moscow to carry out attacks against European targets using drones deployed from maritime platforms.
