Arms Manufacturer Strnad's Company Files Police Report Over Post About the "Čestmír" Helicopter

Helicopter Alliance, a company owned by well-known Czech arms manufacturer Jaroslav Strnad, has filed a police report against an unidentified person or persons posting on social media under the name Tomáš Paukner. This was announced on Tuesday by company spokesman Jaroslav Havenda.

The report was prompted by a post linking Strnad, along with Helicopter Alliance and the Slovak Training Academy, to alleged fraud in the fundraising campaign for the "Čestmír" helicopter for Ukraine. According to the company's spokesman, the complaint concerns primarily a suspicion of defamatory accusation.

Fundraising organizers also preparing a lawsuit

The "Gift for Putin" initiative itself is planning a similar step — co-founder and lead organizer of the project Martin Ondráček confirmed on Tuesday that a report against the anonymous author will be filed on Wednesday, also citing defamation. Ondráček had already sharply criticized the author of the post under the name Paukner on Sunday, stating that the purchased helicopter has been flying in Ukraine since last August.

What the anonymous author wrote

Havenda recalled that on August 8, an account under the name Tomáš Paukner published a post claiming that the helicopter, for which **more than 20 thousand people raised over 70 million crowns**, was never actually handed over to Ukraine and instead remained at the Slovak Training Academy's facility, where it is still being used commercially.

The author of these posts — occasionally cited as a source of information even by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) and other politicians from the ruling coalition parties — wrote that "according to several independent sources, it appears that 'Čestmír' never actually flew to Ukraine," calling it "one of the most serious frauds of recent years."

Confusion between two helicopters

According to Havenda, the entire chain of accusations is based on confusion between two different helicopters. The aircraft with registration number OM-BHB, owned by Strnad's company, was indeed the original helicopter presented at the launch of the fundraising campaign on Letná Plain in Prague on November 17, 2023. However, the organizers ultimately did not purchase that particular machine.

Instead, they chose a different, newer and cheaper helicopter from the United States, which is why the fundraising target was lowered from 105 million to approximately 70 million crowns. "This information was publicly announced back in 2024 and is available in numerous sources. The helicopter that was actually purchased was subsequently handed over to the Ukrainian side," Havenda stated.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz