Czech head of diplomacy assures Ukraine of continued support as security situation worsens
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský paid a two-day working visit to Kyiv at the weekend. In addition to meetings with President Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Sybiha, Mr. Lipavský attended a summit on food security, visited a children's hospital and a demining project of the HALO Trust fund.
Minister Lipavský arrived in Kyiv just a day after Russia launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro. In addition to expressing continued support for Ukraine, the purpose of his visit was to exchange information about the effectiveness of the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine, attend the Grain from Ukraine summit and ascertain the country’s current needs.
At a press briefing in Kyiv following talks with the country’s top officials, Mr. Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “an unwarranted escalation of tension and an attempt by the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine as well as the people of Europe.”
“The use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile that can carry nuclear warheads is clearly a demonstration of force, a threat for which there is no justification –as there is no justification for this whole Russian aggression. We must not give way to it and we must remain staunch in our support of Ukraine.”
The head of Czech diplomacy confirmed that 500,000 rounds of artillery ammunition would be delivered to Kyiv by the end of the year, with plans to extend the initiative in 2025. Lipavský also expressed full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from Russian air attacks and stressed that Europe must be prepared to compensate for possible shortfalls in US aid to Ukraine, should President-elect Trump decide to limit or stop it.
He further reiterated Czechia’s support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO, which, he stressed, is essential to Ukraine's future security.
During the meeting with President Zelensky, Mr. Lipavský assured him that the Czech Republic would continue to support Ukrainian civil society and independent media, which he said are "what distinguishes Ukraine from authoritarian Russia". On a lighter note, the Czech foreign minister presented him with a booklet poking fun of Russian propaganda titled “Fairy-tales from the Kremlin”, one of the many forms with which the Czech authorities are fighting the effects of Russia’s propaganda campaigns in Europe.
The head of Czech diplomacy also attended the "Grain from Ukraine" food security summit in Kyiv, the only top-level foreign diplomat present at the talks due to the worsening security situation.
During his two-day work trip, Minister Lipavský also visited a site being demined with the help of the HALO Trust fund, an activity to which Czechia is contributing financially, and toured Ochmatdyt hospital, which was hit by a Russian missile in July.
He said the Czech government would make a donation of CZK 5 million before the end of this year for the Chernihiv Regional Children's Hospital, the main children's hospital in the entire region and provide 480 heaters for the Dnipropetrovsk region, where people were displaced by the destruction of the Kachovka dam.
The security situation allowing, the two sides expressed interest in holding another joint meeting of the Czech and Ukrainian governments, which would provide the opportunity for further debate on closer cooperation in post-war reconstruction work, particularly in the energy and health sectors.
