Czech government announces a series of unilateral sanctions against Russia

Prime Minister Petr Fiala has announced that the Czech government will introduce a series of unilateral sanctions against Russia in addition to those introduced by the EU.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic will stop issuing visas to Russian citizens, except in humanitarian cases. The authorities will also review already issued residence visas for Russians living in the Czech Republic.

Further, the Ministry of Finance will inspect Russian companies or companies with Russian owners in relation to the drawing of public funds in the Czech Republic.

The Czech government will also speed up the process of withdrawing from two post-Soviet banks - the International Bank for Economic Cooperation and the International Investment Bank - and will call on other EU members to do the same.

The cabinet on Friday also approved the potential deployment of up to 580 Czech troops to the North Atlantic Alliance's Rapid Reaction Force anywhere in NATO.

It earmarked 300 million crowns for emergency humanitarian aid for Ukraine.