Czechs Are Raising Record Sums for Ukraine — Donations Keep Growing for a Third Straight Year

Czech charity fundraising in support of Ukraine keeps growing for a third year running — organizers of the country's largest initiatives report record levels of donations from Czech citizens. Heads of several funds that collect money for weapons, medical supplies and the rebuilding of homes destroyed in Ukraine shared these figures.

According to Martin Ondráček, organizer of the civic initiative "Gift for Putin," if nothing unexpected happens, the campaign will surpass last year's total of 380 million crowns by the end of September. Forecasts suggest the sum could reach as much as 440 million crowns this year.

Smaller organizations are seeing similar growth. Matouš Blaha, director of Coridor UA, which supplies medical and construction materials and rebuilds bombed-out homes and schools directly in Ukraine, said the organization's turnover has doubled compared to last year: in July alone it collected 750,000 crowns, compared to 350,000 crowns a year earlier.

Pavla Jirošová, who oversees the "Help Ukraine with Memory of the Nation" collection, confirmed that donations remain steady and are even growing faster than last year.

A false sense of victory

Fundraising organizers warn that part of Czech society has developed a mistaken impression that Ukraine is already winning and no longer needs support. "We can feel a shift in people's mood — some now think Ukraine is winning and our support is no longer needed," Jirošová noted, adding that donors increasingly need to be reminded that help is still essential.

The reason, she explains, lies in media coverage of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, while the real situation on the front lines inside Ukraine remains difficult. Ondráček agrees: "These successes are one thing — Ukraine's actual ability to hold key territories, some of which have already been lost, is another." Blaha put it even more bluntly: "On the Ukrainian front, things aren't going so well for the Ukrainians again."

What actually drives donations

All the fundraising leaders agree on one thing: Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory do not, by themselves, boost the flow of donations from Czech donors. Real surges in giving tend to come from other triggers — for instance, when U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticizes Ukraine, or when a Czech politician takes down the Ukrainian flag from a public building (as Chamber of Deputies Speaker and SPD leader Tomio Okamura did after taking office).

A particularly strong wave of solidarity followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House in February last year, when Trump sharply criticized him, accusing him of "gambling with the lives of millions and risking World War Three." Donations to "Gift for Putin" increased tenfold in the aftermath.

Russian attacks themselves have an especially strong effect on donors: "Every brutal Russian strike on Ukraine, every widely reported shelling of a civilian building with casualties, triggers a noticeable one-off spike in donations," Ondráček said.

Overall, however, the fundraising trend is one of steady, long-term growth. "The way I see it, the longer the war goes on, the more people understand that weapons are needed so Ukrainians can hold their ground and push the Russians back onto their own territory," Ondráček said, commending his fellow citizens.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz