Czech and Slovak presidents honour fallen Ukrainians at memorial in Kyiv

Czechia’s President Petr Pavel, together with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Čaputová, visited the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday, laying down flowers to honour those who died defending the country from Russia’s aggression.

Both heads of state also laid down wreaths on Kyiv’s Sophia Square in order to commemorate the so-called “Oath of the Czech squadron” (Přísaha České družiny). The oath took place on the site during the First World War, on October 11, 1914. The soldiers who took it were part of the first unit formed on the territory of Tsarist Russia to fight against the Central Powers. The date is generally considered as the beginning of the formation of the Czechoslovak Legions on the Eastern Front. These were units of Czech and Slovak soldiers whose efforts played a key role in helping eventually set up the independent Czechoslovak state.