Similar to other Eastern European allies, the Czech Republic has responded to the conflict in Ukraine, and Russia's takeover of the Crimean peninsula, with plans to hike military spending. To finance acquisition of new weapons, military equipment and training activities, Prague's defense spending is designed to rise from 41 billion krona (US $1.64 billion) in 2014 to 71.5 billion krona in 2020, according to the Czech Ministry.