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Czechia has sent the UN Security Council a letter explaining its refusal to take part in a UN Security Council meeting called by Russia on Saturday over the attack on Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. Russia specifically requested Czechia’s presence at the meeting, claiming that the attack, which caused 18 deaths and many injuries, was carried out with Czech-made weapons. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Czechia would not be summoned anywhere by an aggressor to serve their lies and propaganda. When Russia wants to discuss the withdrawal of its occupying forces at the UN Security Council, we will be happy to come," Lipavský wrote on the social network X.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, Czechia says it regrets every loss of life caused by the senseless war of aggression which Russia has been waging against Ukraine for almost two years, but emphasizes that it is Russia which is responsible for the loss of life on both sides. It says Russia has repeatedly used the UN Security Council as a platform for spreading disinformation and propaganda and it has no reason to believe that this meeting would be any different.

At the meeting, Moscow said Ukraine had used Czech-made RM-70 Vampire rocket launchers in the attack on Belgorod, but presented no evidence for its claims.

According to Prague City Tourism an estimated  650,000 tourists arrived in the Czech capital during Advent. Another 90,000 visitors are expected to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Prague, mainly tourists from Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, but also from the U.S. and Asia, according to Prague City Tourism spokeswoman Klára Janderová. The influx of tourists is also reflected in the occupancy rate of hotels and other accommodation facilities in the metropolis. According to the president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic, Václav Stárek, hotel capacity should be filled by around 85 percent on New Year's Eve, with many hotels already fully booked.

Politicians are considering the possibility of including mandatory psychological tests for obtaining a firearms license in the new gun law being prepared. Although this condition was not in the original draft law now being debated in Parliament, the tragic shooting incident at the Prague Faculty of Arts has made many deputies reconsider their earlier liberal stand. Pavel Žáček, chairman of the Committee on Security, said he was now in favour of introducing such a condition.

The Prague Faculty of Arts has announced that in order to help students cope with the tragic shooting that left 14 people dead and 25 injured on December 21, it has cancelled classes until the end of the winter semester, January 12. Credits and exams will be voluntary this semester and may take place online or at other locations. Department heads will be informing students about the options next week. Many of the faculty’s students have said they would find it difficult to work in or even enter the building so soon after the tragedy.