March 27, 2022
Czech volunteers have already joined the fight in Ukraine, according to a photo featuring a Czech soldier in Irpin, near Kyiv, published to Twitter by Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko. Czech citizens must request permission in order to fight for foreign military forces; earlier this month, President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced that Czechs who wanted to fight for Ukraine would be granted a pardon in order to do so.
In the days following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested foreign volunteers join their military in efforts to defend the country. According to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, an estimated 20,000 foreign soldiers have joined defense efforts. In the first few days following the invasion, the Czech Defence Ministry registered hundreds of requests to volunteer for the Ukrainian military.
March 26, 2022
An 18-month-old girl with burns covering sixty percent of her body has been evacuated from Ukraine to the Czech Republic today, according to the Czech Ministry of the Interior. The girl was airlifted to Prague by Czech soldiers in cooperation with the country's MEDEVAC program, which transports patients abroad in need of medical treatment to the Czech Republic.
According to the Czech Ministry, the girl is in critical but stable condition, and continued care for her would not have been possible in Ukraine. She is the first burn victim to be transported from Ukraine to an EU member state for care since the beginning of the war with Russia.
March 25, 2022
Political divisions on the Czech government's handling of the Ukrainian refugee crisis are starting to emerge, as former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš today accused Petr Fiala's government of putting Ukrainians above Czech citizens. Fiala responded that "by helping Ukrainians, we are also helping Czech citizens. What would Mr. Babiš have us do; leave them out on the streets?" Yet Fiala also said today that Czechia cannot cope with the refugee influx on its own and praised the EU's move to share the financial burden of the crisis.
March 24, 2022
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala is today attending a marathon session of diplomatic discussions in Brussels. The first part of the day sees a meeting of NATO leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine and the provision of further aid to the Ukrainian people. Poland will table a proposal to send a peacekeeping mission into Ukraine, while the formation of new battlegroups in Eastern Europe will also be discussed. Later on, Fiala will attend a meeting of EU leaders focusing on the refugee crisis and possible additional sanctions on Russia.
March 23, 2022
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and President Miloš Zeman today discussed the Czech position for the upcoming NATO summit on March 24 and 25 and reached full agreement on the mandate of the Czech delegation. Zeman also expressed admiration for Fiala's recent trip to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zeman's spokesperson said the President cannot attend the summit in person because doctors have forbidden him from flying. The forthcoming meeting in Brussels will focus on the war in Ukraine and aid sent to the country; a proposal by Poland to send a peacekeeping mission into Ukraine will also be discussed.
March 22, 2022
The assistance center for Ukrainian refugees in Prague will move from its location in the Congress Center to a former bank building near a metro station in the Vysočany district by April 14, Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib has announced. The new location will be loaned to the government by the Central Group developer for free, with the cost of energy during operations also being covered by Central Group. The move is necessary because the Congress Center is contracted for events in the coming weeks, including events relating to the Czech presidency of the European Union. The capacity of the new assistance center will be lower than in the Congress Center; it will be able to serve around 2,700 people per day.
March 21, 2022
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed skepticism about a proposal by Poland to send a peacekeeping mission into Ukraine. Spokeswoman Lenka Do said the specifics of any possible NATO deployment in Ukraine need to be resolved, and that a peacekeeping mission cannot be launched in the context of the current intense fighting in Ukraine. Objections to the Polish proposal were raised by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday. The Czech Foreign Ministry said its priority remains the de-escalation of the conflict through diplomatic means.
March 20, 2022
A new sports program to help Ukrainian children better integrate into schools and kindergartens has been launched in Prague 1 by the Prague Children's Foundation. Through sports interaction with Czech peers, the new program aims to help overcome language barriers in helping young Ukrainian children get to know new friends.
The first event geared towards helping Ukrainian children took place at Beach Praha Arena in Strahov. "We have the experience that games and sports are best utilized for interaction and mutual understanding," says Dana Maršálková, director of the Prague Children's Foundation. "That is why the children's foundation has prepared a special sand-based lesson at Strahov Beach Club, with instructors skilled in multiple languages.”
March 19, 2022
The Czech Republic supports Poland's proposal for a NATO debate on sending a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine following the Russian invasion, Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová said after talks with her Slovak counterpart Jaroslav Naď. However, Černochová told journalists that it was not clear whether such a step would be in harmony with international law.
Naď said he wants to wait for the proposal to be released. "At the moment, I cannot imagine how it should look like," he added. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told journalists that he would discuss support for the sending of a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine with President Miloš Zeman and members of his government.
March 18, 2022
Czechia supports having a debate on whether to send a peacekeeping force into Ukraine, according to Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová speaking after a meeting with her Slovak counterpart Jaroslav Naď today. Both ministers, however, expressed uncertainty about how such a mission would be implemented; Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would submit a proposal to NATO for the mission at a summit next week. Černochová told journalists it was not yet clear how the mission would work, while Naď said that he "cannot imagine how it should look." Czech PM Petr Fiala said he will talk about support for a peacekeeping mission with President Miloš Zeman.
The world reacted to Czech PM Petr Fiala’s visit, along with the prime ministers of Poland and Slovenia, to war-torn Kyiv Tuesday, some supporting, some criticizing the visit. Today key laws were signed by the Czech president in aid of refugees from Ukraine while PM Fiala stressed that difficult times lie ahead in regard to the country’s continued ability to absorb more refugees.
March 16, 2022
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that a peaceful diplomatic solution in Ukraine is possible if Europe continues to back Ukraine, after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky along with his counterparts from Poland and Slovenia in Kyiv yesterday. Fiala also told reporters that Ukraine needs more anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons from the West. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger was meanwhile forced to apologize for not attending the trip, claiming he turned down the opportunity to visit Kyiv based on the information available to him and saying "I am sorry if I disappointed some people in Slovakia."
Refugees Russians help with assisting Ukrainian refugees in Prague
Security Slovakia approves Czech troop deployment
March 15, 2022
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala is in Ukraine to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Slovenian leader Janez Jansa. Fiala said the visit aims to express "unequivocal support" for Ukraine from the European Council. The trip was kept secret for security reasons and news of Fiala's presence in Ukraine only broke this morning. Analysts have described the trip as an important gesture underlining the importance of Central and Eastern European EU members in the bloc's response to the war, which is usually led by larger states such as France and Germany.
Refugees Over 161,000 special visas issued, 11,000 on Monday alone
Security Huge increase in applications to join Czech reserve forces
March 14, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke over the phone with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson through the weekend with PM Fiala assuring the Ukrainian President that shipments of humanitarian and military aid from the Czech Republic to Ukraine will continue. The PM has refuted speculation that the country would call for moving refugees to other EU states. Multiple govt. offices reported a surge of refugee activity while Czech officials will convene to discuss the next steps in accommodating Ukrainian refugees Monday evening, looking to the EU for support.
Refugees Hundreds of thousands of visas issued, Czechia considering tent cities
AID Medicine, money, munitions flowing into Ukraine from Czechia
ČTK contributed to this report.
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