Twenty Czech auhtorised by President Petr Pavel to serve in Ukrainian army

President Petr Pavel has so far given his official approval to 20 Czechs citizens seeking to join Ukraine’s armed forces. Another 156 people have had such requests denied based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence, the Czech head of state said in an interview for television NOVA on Sunday.

According to the website iRozhlas.cz, the presidential office received a total of 553 such applications since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The majority of them - 477 - were received by Mr. Pavel's predecessor, Miloš Zeman, who gave his approval to 132 people.

Under Czech law, joining the army of another state without the president’s permission is considered a crime.