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ANO party leader Andrej Babiš has said in response to a letter from Defence Minister Jana Černochová that his party has never criticised giving aid to Ukraine, but rather criticises the lack of transparency surrounding the current Czech shells-for-Ukraine initiative, which he perceives primarily as a giant PR campaign.

Ms. Černochová wrote in her letter dated Tuesday that the former prime minister's attacks on the ammunition initiative were publicly damaging the image of the country and that national defence and security issues should remain separate from political campaigning, accusing him of trying to create the impression that the initiative is fraudulent in order to win the votes of extremists.

The ANO party leader wrote in response in a letter dated Friday that his party had never questioned the giving of aid to Ukraine or disputed the idea that Russia is the clear aggressor in the conflict, but that if the main goal of the shells initiative was really to help Ukraine, then it would not have been publicly discussed until after the delivery of the aid.

The American student marching band Stuttgart Legacy Drumline opened the Plzeň Freedom Celebrations' cultural programme on Friday evening, marking the liberation of the city by US and Belgian troops at the end of World War II. Following the performance, 25 descendants of the veterans who liberated the city in May 1945 came onto the podium in the city's central square and addressed the crowds. Kristina Pieper, the daughter of American veteran Richard Pieper, who died last March at the age of 99, said that her father always spoke of Plzeň as his second home.

The second day of the programme began on Saturday with a mass for veterans and victims of wars in the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, delivered by Bishop Tomáš Holub in Czech and English.

The Freedom Celebrations will continue over the weekend with a historical, military and cultural program including outdoor gatherings, concerts, guided tours and exhibitions, and will culminate on May 6 with commemorative ceremonies at monuments to the soldiers.

Czechia, along with Poland, had the lowest rate of unemployment in the European Union in March, according to the latest data by the European statistics agency Eurostat published on Friday.

The general level of unemployment in the EU lay at 6 percent in March, a decrease by 0.1 percent when compared to February. In Czechia unemployment rose to 2.9 percent from 2.7 percent in February.

Czechia, along with Germany, the European Union, NATO and international partners, has strongly condemned activities of the Russian state-controlled actor APT28, who has been conducting a long-term cyber espionage campaign in European countries.

According to the ministry’s statement, published on Friday, Czech institutions have been the target of attacks exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook since last year. The method and the focus of the attacks matched the profile of the activities of the APT28 group, linked to the Russian military secret service GRU.

“We are determined to respond strongly to this unacceptable behaviour together with European and international partners," the ministry said, calling on the Russian Federation to cease these activities.