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It is essential to curb Russia’s influence in Europe exerted via energy costs, disinformation campaigns and artificially induced migration waves, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in an interview for the CTK news agency. The foreign minister stressed the importance of standing by Ukraine and providing humanitarian, military and economic support for as long as necessary, so as to signal to Russia that its aggression against a sovereign state will not go unanswered.

Lipavský said the election of a new president to office in Czechia is a chance to take stock of the country’s foreign policy and review its goals and priorities.

Police statistics published on Friday reveal that the number of murders committed on Czech soil this year increased significantly compared to last year. While 105 murders were recorded in 2021, by September this year that number had already been exceeded. At the end of November, the number stood at 150.

This number is higher even than in 2019, i.e. before the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, when 143 murders were recorded. Most of the killers knew their victims personally.

The total number of recorded crimes in Czechia has also increased compared to last year. At the end of November, 170,096 crimes had been recorded, an increase of about 30,000 year-on-year.

However, last year and the year before, crime decreased largely due to covid-19 measures. In 2019, the total number of crimes was higher, at more than 185,000 in the period from January to November.

The first rotation of Ukrainian soldiers trained at the Czech army's Libavá military training ground in the Olomouc Region left on Thursday morning, the Czech Army announced via its Twitter account. The army said it had trained the Ukrainians to be able to independently conduct combat operations and effectively defend their territory and sovereignty. They added that the training mission was a pan-European effort but that it was also in the interests of Czech national defence.

People in Czechia still have tens of millions of banknotes in their wallets that expired this year and should be careful not to try to pay for Christmas presents with them, the Czech Banking Association warned on Thursday. The most widespread invalid denomination is CZK 100 notes, of which 22 million remain in circulation - roughly a third of all notes of that denomination in circulation.

CZK 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 banknotes issued between 1995 and 1999 expired at the end of June, but can still be exchanged for new ones at any bank free of charge until the middle of 2024. After this date, it will be possible to exchange them only at the Czech National Bank.

The Czech National Bank decided to withdraw the older model of banknotes so that there would be only one type in circulation, in order to make it easier for people to tell whether the banknote is a counterfeit or not. Banknotes withdrawn from circulation are primarily recognizable by the silvery strip that crosses the banknote. The older notes have a narrow strip that does not change colour when tilted, while the newer designs have a wider strip that changes colour from brown-purple to green when tilted.