PM Fiala: Czechia has nearly exhausted its arms supplies to support Ukraine

The Czech Republic's National Organised Crime Agency suspects two Czech volunteers of looting war zones in Ukraine outside of Kyiv, reports iROZHLAS.cz.
Both suspects, who had been fighting alongside Ukraine's military, were released without charges by Ukrainian police and are now back in the Czech Republic.
They are currently under investigation by Czech police. If convicted, they could face an exceptional sentence of up to 30 years in prison. They are also suspected of fighting in Ukraine without permission from the Czech president.
"We have never dealt with such a case. We are naturally working on it intensively," Organised Crime Agency chief Jiří Mazánek told CNN Prima News.
According to Seznam Zpravy, a lawyer for the Ukrainian battalion the Czechs were fighting with said they were found with jewelry and other items including about half a kilogram of gold and silver.

Czechia has practically exhausted its supplies of weapons with which it could help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a press conference in Brussels. He added that more weapons will need to be acquired.
Fiala told journalists that Ukraine will be a priority of the forthcoming Czech EU presidency. Czechia is going to further support the Ukrainian army with weapons, but it also offers technical support and training.
Fiala met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels to discuss further military aid to Ukraine, defense policy, and NATO enlargement.

Schools may create special classes for Ukrainian children next school year if there are not enough places in the regular classes. However, they will have to teach according to Czech curricula.
The teachers who do not fulfill the condition of knowing Czech will be able to keep teaching children in Ukrainian classes.
The amendment is also supposed to make the building of temporary shelters for accommodating and educating refugees easier and faster in the future.
The Czech Republic issued temporary protection visas to 699 refugees from the war-stricken Ukraine on Thursday, 118 more than a week ago, and the total number of visas granted to the refugees since the Russian invasion start on Feb. 24, is 381,664, the Interior Ministry tweeted.

Foreign Minister expects that with the enactment of the new law Czechia will focus its attention on individuals and entities from Russia and Belarus that take part in the war in Ukraine and are not on the EU sanction lists for some reason.
Based on the law, targeted internal restrictive measures may be adopted in accordance with the decisions of the Czech Republic that arise from national security interests and that seek to maintain or renew international peace and security, protection of fundamental human rights, and fight against terrorism.

The regulation on suspending the issuance of Czech visas and residence permits to Russians and Belarusians will be in force until the end of March 2023, the cabinet agreed today, approving a proposal submitted by the Foreign Ministry.
The applications for residence permits in the Czech Republic that Russians and Belarusians will file with a diplomatic mission will be considered unacceptable under the legal regulation, so no proceedings on them will be launched, the Foreign Ministry said in its report.

Almost 77,000 Ukrainians who fled from the Russian invasion to Czechia have already found a job, which proves that the refugees do not come to the country to abuse the welfare system but that they want to live here, said Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.
Czech authorities estimate that from 280,000 to 300,000 Ukrainian refugees, mostly women with children, are staying in the country now.
The precise number of refugees cannot be set because some move to other foreign countries from Czechia or return to their homeland. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, more than 378,000 Ukrainians received temporary protection visas in Czechia.

Czechia is going to emphasize further support for Ukraine during its presidency of the Council of the European Union, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told journalists today after talks with foreign ministers from other EU countries.
EU states are therefore going to provide further weapons to Ukraine needed to fend off the Russian attack in the eastern and southern part of its territory and to contribute to the financing of the urgent needs of the Ukrainian state.
Apart from this, Czechia and some other states want further EU money to be earmarked for the care of Ukrainian refugees.

Some Czech politicians are increasingly distancing themselves from the government's strategy to help Ukraine, reports ČT24.
The loudest are SPD deputies, who say that arms supplies to a country invaded by Russia should end. According to them, arms supplies are prolonging the war.
Former Prime Minister and YES chairman Andrej Babiš also came forward with the claim that arms supplies should end. International relations experts point out that such arguments are in line with the official views of the Kremlin.