Ammunition provided under the Czech-led initiative is now arriving in Ukraine and will continue to flow, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told RFE/RL on June 13.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on June 10 that Russia may be linked to an attempted arson attack on Prague city buses last week.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova voiced support for the France-led initiative, but said that unlike Czechia, such a move is practical for France and some other countries due to their distance from Ukraine.
The death toll included two Ukrainian women, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, adding that the citizenship of the other two fatalities is being determined.
The Czech government launched a pilot project to help Ukrainian refugees return home if they wish to do so, Radio Prague International reported on June 2.
Volunteers fundraising for Ukraine were attacked in central Prague by Russian-speaking foreigners, Czech news outlet Novinky.cz reported on June 2.
To provide Ukraine with 1.5 million of shells this year, 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) will be needed, said Tomas Kopecny, the Czech envoy for Ukraine's reconstruction.
A total of 15 EU countries and NATO have already allocated more than 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 million) for the effort, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Key updates on May 28: * Belgium signs security deal with Ukraine, pledges $1 billion in aid this year * Zelensky arrives in Portugal, signs bilateral security deal * Sending troops to Ukraine 'shouldn't be ruled out,' Polish FM says * WSJ: Russia aims to produce 6,000 Shahed-type drones a year in
"As a country under attack, Ukraine certainly has every right to use all means of defense," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
At Czechia's proposal, the EU has sanctioned former Ukrainian politician and pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on May 27.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said additional funds would allow the allies to buy over 3,000 rounds of 155 mm shells.
The poll found that 66% of respondents said they were "completely" or "rather satisfied" with their lives in the countries.
Russia does not seek cooperation with Europe, and if European countries want to ensure peace and prosperity, they must set "clear boundaries" for Moscow, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Die Presse published on May 11.
The funds are part of a broader initiative known as "Strengthening Ukraine's Forest Monitoring Capacity to Align with EU Standards." The goal is to improve Ukraine's ability to monitor forests and collect accurate data.
The country's investigators believe that Andrey Averyanov coordinated the supposed Russian sabotage operation in 2014 that led to ammunition depot blasts in the eastern Czech town of Vrbetice, killing two people and causing damages in tens of millions of dollars.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Czech President Petr Pavel discussed the ongoing defense cooperation between their countries, and Pavel confirmed his participation at the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.
The first batch of ammunition purchased by allied countries under the Czech-led initiative is expected to arrive in Ukraine in June, Czech President Petr Pavel told German broadcaster ARD on May 8.
A Slovak fundraising campaign for the Czech ammunition initiative has raised enough money to buy 2,692 shells for Ukraine, the Czech News Agency reported on May 8.
The EU executive body is proposing that the Voice of Europe media outlet be added to the upcoming 14th round of EU sanctions against Russia, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, said on May 5, as reported by European Pravda.
Representatives of Czechia and Estonia will not be in attendance for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming presidential inauguration, the foreign ministers of the respective countries confirmed on May 5.
"This type of behavior is contrary to the UN norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace, such as impairing the use and operation of critical infrastructure," the European Council said.
There are 94,643 men aged 18 to 65 in the Czech Republic who have temporary protection due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the Czech Interior Ministry.
Ukrainian-Israeli citizen Artem Marchevskyi, accused by Czech authorities of running a pro-Russian propaganda network from Prague, has been granted temporary protection in neighboring Slovakia, the Czech news outlet Denik N reported on April 30, citing its undisclosed sources.
Two Russian-born Czech citizens ran a hotel in northern Greece that doubled as a safe house for an infamous unit of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) as it carried out bombings and poisonings across Europe, an investigation by The Insider has found.
Russian military intelligence operatives were responsible for deadly ammunition depot explosions in Czechia in 2014, the Czech police said on April 29 following a three-year investigation.
Slovak activists collected 3.9 million euros ($4 million) for the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine in 12 days, after the Slovak government refused to participate.
In lieu of NATO membership, Kyiv is seeking to sign similar agreements with as many of its Western allies as possible as it fights Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Slovak citizens have raised over $1.6 million in three days for the Czech ammunition initiative after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to contribute to the campaign to aid Ukraine.
The governments of Belgium and Czechia sent a letter to other EU leaders on April 17 calling for new restrictive measures against Russia over its disinformation activities within the European bloc.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced in February that the Czech Republic had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside of Europe that could be bought and sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his Czech and Romanian counterparts, Petr Pavel and Klaus Iohannis, while visiting Lithuania on April 11, according to Ukraine's Presidential Office.
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