The former government representative for Ukraine and deputy minister of defense will focus on geopolitical risks within the Security Club of Czech Business.
At the beginning of 2026, the European Values Center for Security Policy welcomed Tomáš Kopečný to our team as a senior advisor.
Tomáš Kopečný was a leading figure in the Czech ammunition initiative and the reconstruction of Ukraine, having previously served as Deputy Minister of Defense for Industrial Cooperation. For his contribution to helping Ukraine, Tomáš received the Order of Merit in 2022 and the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise in 2024 from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He works as a senior advisor at the European Values Center for Security Policy and leads the Security Club of Czech Business. He also provides analytical support for our crisis simulations, which we also organize for foreign allies.
“Russia is rapidly preparing for a large-scale war in Europe—that’s what NATO commanders and intelligence chiefs are saying out loud. The NATO defense community expects that a Russian military attack on Europe will be accompanied by massive economic and technological pressure from China. We need to prepare Czech companies for this so that they can increase their chances of survival and minimize damage in such a crisis.
It is good that the new government plans to amend crisis legislation, but realistically we cannot expect the state to prepare companies in detail for every security shock scenario. As part of the Security Club of Czech Business, we will organize briefings for Czech companies from leaders of the Czech and international security community. Furthermore, we will organize exercises for major crises so that our allies know exactly what to prepare for. At the Ministry of Defense, I organized a series of military-led exercises for companies in the defense sector, so I know how beneficial this format is,” says Tomáš Kopečný.