Did the Czechs buy Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told them to and Ukraine needs them at the war front? No, that's not true: The purchase of the vehicles was carried out in accordance with Czech laws and had been planned for years to modernize the Czech Army's equipment and fulfill its NATO obligations. A Czech Army spokesperson told Lead Stories in an email that claims circulating based on a Czech Army's social media post quoting Zelenskyy are a "clear misinterpretation" of its message.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on August 4, 2024. It contains a post from the official Czech Army X (formerly Twitter) account in Czech, quoting Zelenskyy's praise for the CV90 infantry vehicles, which have proven superior to Russian machines. The post quotes Zelenskyy in Czech, translated by Lead Stories into English: "The CV90 is exactly what we need at the front." Then, it continues in Czech, as translated: "The superior crew protection, impressive firepower, and agility of the machine give it a clear superiority over Russian technology. ... CV90, combat-proven."
The text in Czech superimposed over the image of the post reads, translated by Lead Stories:
Zelenskyy has commanded, and the CR army is fulfilling his wishes.
Zelenskyy said he needed them on the front and the CR (Czech Republic) army is buying them without hesitation.
And then he'll probably say that Ukraine actually needs them more because Ukraine is fighting for all of Europe.
And why not? Czech pensioners will gladly pay for it.
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Aug 12 07:28:28 2024 UTC)
The TikTok post above uses a Czech Army official X account status from August 2, 2024 (archived here).
Claims that Zelenskyy ordered the Czech Army to buy the vehicles superimposed on the TikTok screenshot are "a clear misinterpretation of the post´s message," Czech Army spokeswoman Magdalena Dvorakova told Lead Stories in an email on August 15, 2024, as translated into English by Lead Stories staff. Dvorakova said that the Army's purchases are subject to Czech law and under civilian and political control, adding that Zelenskyy's opinion is used in the post as "relevant" because the Ukrainians are using these machines in the war conflict. Dvorakova also pointed out that the purchase was not a "quick decision, but a long-planned strategic acquisition as part of the plan to modernize the Army's equipment and eliminate its dependence on Soviet-era equipment." Sending any military aid to Ukraine "is not a military decision, but a political one," she added in her email.
Claims that Zelenskyy "ordered" the Czech Army to buy the vehicles because Ukraine needed them at the front contain a reference to the website 42cen.com (archived here) and its Telegram account (archived here), which was labeled as the successor (archived here) of Sputnik News (archived here), spreading Russian propaganda, by the Center Against Hybrid Threats (archived here) at the Czech Ministry of Interior Affairs in April 2022.
The Army also published further posts about CV90 infantry fighting vehicles on its X account. A post from July 23, 2024, describes their capabilities designed to protect the crew from drones´ and other weapons attacks (archived here). An account´s post from May 23, 2024, says that CV90 offers "a comprehensive solution" for the Czech Army modernization (archived here) and that acquiring 246 infantry fighting vehicles, along with Leopard tanks, will completely rearm the Army´s 7th Mechanised Brigade.
Other posts about new other armaments for the Czech Army include Leopard tanks, (archived here) given by Germany to replenish the Czech Army stocks that were sent to aid Ukraine, or rocket launching devices (archived here).
The Czech government approved the purchase of the 246 Swedish CV90 (archived here) infantry fighting vehicles on May 24, 2023, for 59,7 billion koruna, according to a statement from the Czech Defense Ministry posted on its website (archived here). CV90 vehicles were specifically chosen as they are "the only combat-proven vehicles," are used in many European countries, and meet the requirements of the Czech Army, the statement says, as translated by Lead Stories into English. It also notes that the approval came nine years after the decision was first made to purchase such equipment, which is "essential" to meet the Czech Republic's "key" NATO commitment to build a heavy ground brigade by 2026, the statement says.
The creation of such a brigade will already take longer than the previously promised deadline of 2026, the Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova told CTK in June 2024 (archived here).
The Czech Ministry of Defense also has a question and answer section (archived here) on its website. It provides updated information on the vehicles and details of the contract with their manufacturer, Sweden's BAE Systems Hägglunds AB (archived here).
