Zelenskyy and winner of elections in Czechia hold phone conversation

Andrej Babiš, the leader of ANO, the winning party in the Czech parliamentary elections, announced on Thursday 9 October that he had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Babiš, who before the elections promised to halt the Czech programme supplying ammunition to Ukraine, said he was pleased that Zelenskyy had reached out and briefed him on the current situation.

Babiš wrote on X that he had expressed Czechia's support and his wish for the war to end as soon as possible. He added that they had also agreed that, if circumstances allowed, he would visit Ukraine next year and they would discuss everything in person.

On 8 October, Babiš promised that if a government led by his party were formed, it would not allocate budget funds for weapons for Ukraine.

He had previously pledged to cancel the shell initiative, which helps supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine. However, he recently softened his rhetoric on the programme, saying that it should be handled at the NATO level.

In the Czech parliamentary elections on 3-4 October, Babiš's populist ANO party received the most votes, winning 34.5% of the total.