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Viktor Orban does not represent Czech or EU interests in Moscow nor does he have any mandate to negotiate on behalf of either, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wrote on social media site X following the Hungarian prime minister's bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Mr Fiala reiterated that the Czech position on the war in Ukraine is clear in that Putin is the aggressor and that Czechia stands with Ukraine.

Hungary took over the rotating six-month presidency of the EU Council on Monday and soon afterwards Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday. According to Reuters, Mr Orban described his trip to Moscow as a continuation of the "peace mission" which he started with his visit to the Ukrainian capital. Orban arrived in Moscow on Friday morning to hold talks with Putin and following the meeting, the Russian News Agency TASS reported that Putin had said the two had discussed possibilities for settling the war in Ukraine. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, emphasised that Orban's trip is a bilateral visit without an EU mandate.

Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungary maintains good relations with the country, refusing to provide military aid to Kyiv and criticising the EU's sanctions on Russia. Orban is one of the few Western leaders to have met with Putin since the beginning of the invasion. Before the meeting, Orban said that Hungary is the last European country that can still have a dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine.

Around 30,000 people from Czechia and abroad took part in the 25th annual pilgrimage festival in the Moravian town of Velehrad in the Zlín Region on Friday, marking the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Greek missionaries who brought Christianity to the Czech lands. The Days of the People of Goodwill, as the celebration is called, culminated on Friday with an open-air pilgrimage mass on the square in front of the Velehrad Basilica, celebrated by Olomouc Archbishop Josef Nuzík.

The two-day event officially began on Thursday evening with a prayer in the Velehrad Basilica and a charity benefit concert, which raised CZK 1.025 million and drew around 20,000 attendees. Every 5 July in Czechia is a public holiday commemorating the two saints.

Around 13,500 people performed in the second round of mass exercises at Prague’s Fortuna arena (formerly Eden Stadium) on Friday afternoon, officially closing the 17th All Sokol Slet, a gathering of Sokol branches from all around the world held every six years.

The mass performances, the first instalment of which took place on Thursday evening, are the culmination and highlight of Slet week, which began on Sunday with a parade through the Czech capital and a performance at the National Theatre, and continued with cultural and sporting events throughout the week. Both Thursday's and Friday's performances were aired live on Czech Television.

Sokol members opened the second round of performances on Friday by forming the word "spojujeme“ (we connect) in huge letters on the stadium grounds and ended it by coming together in the shape of a giant tree, meant to represent the tree of life.

Sokol is a Czech physical fitness movement with branches all over the world. Since its inception more than 160 years ago, it has been one of the main drivers of Czech social life. The Slets are the highlight of the Sokol calendar.

Czechia’s exports of military equipment reached CZK 48.9 billion last year, which represented a year-on-year increase of 60 percent, according to an annual report on foreign arms trade released on Thursday.

According to the report, the Ministry of Industry and Trade granted 1,580 licenses to export military material to 99 countries last year, amounting to nearly CZK 68.2 billion. The largest value of exports, worth over CZK 20 billion, was destined to Ukraine, which is facing a Russian military invasion.

The value of army material imported to Czechia in 2023 was over CZK 11.5 billion, almost triple the sum reported in 2022.