Czech army chief calls on West to prepare for long war in Ukraine

Czech military commander-in-chief Karel Rehka told Reuters.

He emphasized that he was not disappointed with the pace of the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive.

"This is how a military offensive looks," he said. "It is not like a World War Two movie. It takes time." "In the overall picture, I think there is currently no capacity on either side to reach their ultimate declared objectives any time soon," Rehka said. "It won’t last a few weeks, it will last for long, probably. And it's important that we keep supporting Ukrainians for a long time," he added. 

According to him, the Czech Republic still has weapons in its warehouses that it can provide to Ukraine.

"We have provided a lot considering our size and what we have in our military," he declined to say specifically what remained available in warehouses.

"Believe me, we are going through different storages and plans and concepts and trying to identify what more we can provide. We still have some, including some heavy equipment."

• On February 1, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Ukraine deserves to become a NATO member after the war, as its army is currently the most experienced in Europe.

• In March, Pavel called on EU countries to provide Ukraine with fighter jets.