News

Czech Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna (SPD) has reiterated that the Czech Armed Forces cannot sell four L-159 aircraft to Ukraine. He said the stance is based on last year’s findings by the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) and an expert opinion from the Chief of the General Staff, Karel Řehka.

Comments by President Petr Pavel on Thursday suggested that, according to earlier assessments by the military, the sale of four L-159 jets to Ukraine would not undermine Czech defence capabilities. During a visit to Ukraine last week, Pavel spoke about the possibility of providing the country with several smaller aircraft for defence against drones.

The governing coalition later rejected the sale of the aircraft saying that the army needs the planes.

Ukraine could potentially obtain Czech-made L-39 Skyfox aircraft, which would meet its needs, but would likely have to wait until manufacturer Aero Vodochody produces them.

The Prague Municipal Court has once again issued a guilty verdict in the case of Ivan Elischer, a former judge of the Prague High Court, who is charged with corruption. The length of the sentence has not yet been announced. The prosecutor is seeking a nine-year prison sentence and a financial penalty.

According to the indictment, Elischer accepted bribes from members of the Vietnamese community in exchange for influencing drug-related cases at the High Court. In addition to accepting bribes, he is accused of abuse of power, aiding offenders, and unauthorized access to a computer system. Key evidence in the case includes wiretap recordings.

Saturday should bring overcast skies with scattered snow showers and day temperatures between -3 and 3 degrees Celsius.

Icy conditions seriously complicated traffic in South Moravia on Friday. Traffic police and firefighters dealt with more than 150 traffic accidents and around 20 additional traffic-related incidents by midday and problems continued to pile up in the afternoon hours, police spokesman Bohumil Malášek told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

South Moravian emergency services said they had activated a trauma plan because of the high number of crashes and injuries. Dozens of pedestrians were injured after slipping on icy pavements.

Public transport in Brno and regional bus services were delayed, with some routes suspended entirely. Long traffic jams formed on motorways as a result of accidents, and some road sections were completely closed while the aftermath was being cleared.

The D1 motorway was closed for about four hours near Vyškov in the direction of Brno.

Meteorologists have issued an ice warning for the eastern part of the country valid up until Saturday morning.