Ukraine crisis in Czechia: What's happening now (April 24)

The Czech Republic has frozen Russian property in its territory worth nearly one billion crowns, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said on Czech Television today. If the sale of this property is thought to potentially support the actions of Russia in Ukraine, it may even be confiscated in future, he added.

The Czech government is currently exploring avenues for confiscating the frozen property, and one of them is the passage of special laws, Stanjura said. Due to the war in Ukraine, EU countries have frozen property worth 900 billion crowns (37 billion euros) in total.

Freezing Russian-owned property is a part of the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. The owners cannot do anything with the frozen property. EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders recommended that the property be confiscated if the owners are connected with Vladimir Putin's regime or if they support the Russian war in Ukraine.

Czech Minister for Legislation Michal Šalomoun has said that special Czech sanctions would punish supporters of the Russian regime in in the Czech Republic more than the current EU sanctions, but they have yet to be approved.

Eight Czech regions, mostly in Moravia and eastern Bohemia, still have capacity to receive a large number of refugees and provide for them in the areas of housing, employment, and education, according to a study conducted by Charles University in collaboration with People in Need. In contrast, Prague, Karlovy Vary, and Plzeň are currently overburdened, the study reports.

The study recommends a redistribution of refugees across the country. A total of 156 municipalities in the Czech Republic have a population over 5,000 with access to assistance from authorities, more than 100 job openings, and available places in schools.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Czech Ministry of the Interior has granted more than 305,000 special visas to Ukrainians fleeing their home country. About two-fifths of the refugees are children, and more than three-quarters of the adults are women.

The Czech Republic has been providing heavy military equipment to Ukraine for several weeks, including tanks and artillery. Now, according to Czech server Echo24.cz, the latest deliveries likely include the self-propelled belt howitzers 2S1 Gvozdika. These Soviet mobile cannons were once used by the Czech army. Currently, the company Excalibur Army, which sold them to the Ukrainian army before the invasion, stores them in its warehouses. Trucks with covered military equipment heading for Ukraine seen in Olomouc this week are likely self-propelled Soviet howitzers 2S1 Gvozdika, probably bought from the arms company Excalibur Army, which belongs to the Czechoslovak Group.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský spoke to CNN International Thursday, confirming that the Czech Republic would continue to send military support to Ukraine, despite a previous warning from Russia against supplying the country with Soviet weapons.

As of Thursday, Russian troops have occupied 42 villages in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Defending Ukrainian forces can regain them, Olena Symonenková, the adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on television. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the biggest battle of the war, declaring the port city of Mariupol "liberated" following weeks of bombardment. Russia has also rejected a ceasefire proposal during the upcoming Orthodox Easter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on April 24 this year.

Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navrátilová has criticized Wimbledon's decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tennis grand slam. Ukrainian players have, on the other hand, supported the move. Yet Serbian star of the men's game Novak Djokovic also condemned the move, describing it as "crazy". Navrátilová said that "exclusion like this, through no fault of these players, is not the way to go. Tennis is such a democratic sport it is difficult when you see politics destroy it. On the women's side, practically 10 percent of the field is not allowed to play. This decision was made in a vacuum by the All England Club. I understand their predicament but I just don't think they're seeing the big picture in a more global way. But I am devastated by the decision, quite frankly."

Czech arms companies will repair Ukrainian army combat vehicles damaged in the country's war in Russia. The first contract will be for the repair of T-64 tanks by firms from the Czechoslovak group, according to the Czech Ministry of Defense. The Czechoslovak Group and other Czech companies may also be called upon to repair BTR and BRDM wheeled armored vehicles. The Czech Republic has agreed to repair Ukrainian vehicles because along with Ukraine and Russia, these vehicles were also used by the Czech army as a former satellite state of the Soviet Union.

The Office of the President of Ukraine has reported on the results of its Coordination Center for Humanitarian and Social Affairs, and found that the Czech Republic is the third-most-generous nation in the world when it comes to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Charitable assistance received for Ukraine from donors worldwide now totals over CZK 20 billion.

"They go mainly to the accounts of the UN and international humanitarian organizations. And they, in turn, send them to help our refugees in different countries," according to the head of the President's Office.

Eleven percent of the donated funds came from the Czech Republic. This is three percent more than the proportion donated by the United States, a country over thirty times larger by population size. Only the Netherlands (almost eighteen percent) and the United Kingdom (47 percent) have donated more.

The huge amount donated by British citizens and corporations includes contributions from the Royal Family, the British government, film, theater and music stars.

In the 50 days following the start of Russia's invasion, 270,000 tons of humanitarian aid were shipped to Ukraine. Aid is often sent to logistics centers on the country's borders with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia. Over half of the cargo from abroad first makes its way to Lviv before being distributed where needed throughout the country.

The Czech secret services have warned about the possibility for Russia to use the Ukrainian refugee crisis as a way of infiltrating the Czech Republic and wider European society.

The head of the BIS counter-intelligence service Michal Koudelka warned a Current Security Threats meeting in the Czech parliament that "the activity of Russian supporters in our country is slowly beginning to grow. We must be prepared for new attacks, including massive misinformation, the use of the 'fifth column' and cyberattacks."

The 'fifth column' referred to by Koudelka means a minority group trying to undermine the actions of the majority in favor of a hostile power. It's feared Russia will try to foster and enhance this disruptive internal threat by sending spies with fake documentation to the Czech Republic disguised as Ukrainian refugees. It's also suspected that misinformation will be used to create groups in Czechia who oppose the reception of refugees or the West's actions against Russia in the war in Ukraine.

A source from Czech security services told iDNES that "Czechia will play a strategic role in building another network of spies and Russian informants" in Europe. The Czech authorities have not yet identified any Russian agent among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who have so far entered the country.

A teacher at a Prague primary school was sacked before Easter for relating false information about the war in Ukraine to her pupils.

The teacher claimed that "nothing is happening" in Kyiv, and that Czech Television, which controls footage from the Ukrainian capital, "is linked to billionaire Soros." The teacher was referring to George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire who conspiracy theorists often accuse of manipulating global media narratives.

Students at the school secretly filmed the 18-minute diatribe and showed the recording to the headteacher, who decided to suspend the teacher and wants to terminate her employment.

Education Minister Petr Gazdík praised the principal's quick and strong response to the incident. "Everyone has the right to an opinion, but not to lie," Gazdík said.

The teacher in question has portrayed her suspension as "a denial of democratic principles and freedoms." It's been claimed her speech in support of Russia was made while a Ukrainian refugee child was sitting in the classroom.