Russia will not become friendlier after Ukraine war ends: Czech military chief

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia should not be expected to become “friendlier” after the Ukraine war comes to an end, according to the Czech Republic military chief.

"Russia will stay here. Russia will not be safer towards us, it will not be friendlier and it will not be more predictable," Chief of General Staff Karel Rehka said in weekend remarks to Czech television.

His remarks came days before the war reaches its third anniversary, and with talk of possible negotiations and peace proposals making headlines.

Rehka also pointed to the difficulty of achieving a resolution to the war in a way that prevents it from resurfacing in the future.

He added that his country’s military hopes to boost its active and reserve members to 37,500 but admitted that this is “unrealistic” given demographic trends and past recruitment efforts.

Under current plans, the Czech army is set to have 30,000 professional soldiers and 10,000 active reserve members by 2030. Currently, the army has some 23,600 soldiers, with around 1,000 added over the past five years.