"Our cities are not being destroyed by Russian artillery and missiles. But our future could be destroyed if we don't support Ukraine to a successful end to this conflict," Pavel said.

Czech President-elect Petr Pavel has said Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO “as soon as the war is over,” noting that Kyiv would be “morally and practically ready” to join the Western alliance once the conflict had ended.

Pavel, in his first broadcast interview with the international media since his election Saturday, gave a robust defence of Western military support to Ukraine, saying there should be “almost no limits” to what countries should send.

The 61-year-old retired NATO general said he believed that sending Western fighter planes such as F-16s was “not taboo”, but he was unsure they could be delivered in a timeframe that could prove useful to Kyiv.

“I am proud of my country being one of the first to provide Ukraine with significant military help,” Pavel told the BBC.

The Czech Republic was the first Western country to send tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, Soviet-designed T72s and BMP1s, to Ukraine – part of a series of deliveries of heavy weapons that reportedly began as early as March 2022.

After resisting internal and external pressure for almost a year on, countries including Britain, the United States, and Germany have begun yielding to Ukriane’s repeated calls to send modern, Western-made tanks such as Leopard 2s, Challenger 2s, and M1 Abrams.

“Probably very few people could imagine that Western countries would be willing to provide Ukraine with modern main battle tanks or long-range artillery or anti-aircraft systems,” Pavel said, noting that it was reality.

“But at the same time we see it’s still not enough” to counter Russia’s significant resources of men and material, he added.

Pavel, who will be sworn in as President in March, acknowledged Kyiv’s disappointment at the speed of deliveries, especially Western tanks, which were explicitly designed to punch holes - literally and figuratively - through Soviet armoured formations.

Ukraine has asked for 300 such tanks and says the West has so far promised to send at least 120. But Pavel said he hoped that would speed up, especially if Russia launches its anticipated spring offensive.

Russia has warned that increased supplies of Western weapons will lead to NATO countries increasingly becoming directly involved in the conflict.

“We have no alternative,” Pavel said. “If we leave Ukraine without assistance, they would most probably lose this war. And if they lose, we all lose.”