Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew to the Czech capital from Bulgaria on July 6, in a surprise visit which is set to continue through Friday with cabinet talks and meetings with Czech Senate and parliamentary leaders.

It is the first time in 14 years that a Ukrainian leader has officially visited Czechia.  

At a press conference at Prague Castle, Zelenskiy thanked Czechs for the “warm welcome” and for the support of Ukraine, specifically saying, “Thank you for helping our children”. He also warned against malign propaganda in Czechia, stating, “Russian propaganda has very destructive outcomes”.

Despite the high security and the information embargo surrounding the visit, several tens of people gathered at the Hradcany Square in front of the Giant Gate, the main entrance to the Prague Castle, waving Ukrainian flags as Zelenskiy, wearing a Ukrainian camouflage t-shirt, was given a ceremonial welcome by his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel.

“I see no other solution to this conflict than Ukraine’s success,” Pavel stated at a press conference during which he also voiced support for Ukraine’s membership in Nato ahead of the military alliance’s next week’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, saying it is also “in the interest of our security”.

Zelenskiy stressed the symbolic timing of the visit on the day Czechs commemorate the 15th-century religious reformer Jan Hus, who was burnt at the stake in Constance in today’s Switzerland by then-Catholic leaders as a heretic and whom Zelenskiy described as “Czech national hero”. 

Zelenskiy’s visit came just days after the new Czech rules curtailing the aid to Ukrainians seeking shelter in Czechia kicked in on July 1. There are some 350,000 Ukrainians with asylum visas, mostly women and children, according to the latest figures quoted by the Czech Press Agency (CTK), which makes Czechia, along with Poland, one of the most active supporters of fleeing Ukrainian civilians worldwide.

The new rules are, however, strongly criticised by journalists and NGOs working with Ukrainians in the country.

Director of the Association for Migration and Integration Magda Faltovat told Czech Television that “it is natural that Czechia adjusts the [aid] measures [as time goes on] but I disagree with the way it is being done,” adding that the new rules “fail” to protect the most vulnerable people.

Faltova pointed out the case of a Ukrainian boy Anton who is in Czechia with his mother and who is being treated here for an oncological disease. Under the new rules, Anton’s mother is not considered  “a vulnerable person” anymore, meaning she is no longer entitled to state support for accommodation.

According to PAQ Research, the income of the Ukrainians who work in Czechia is very low, with some two-thirds declaring monthly household income below CZK15,000 (€627), putting them below the income poverty line.   

Acclaimed Czech journalist Sasa Uhlova, reporting on poverty and meagre work conditions, has published stories of Ukrainian women being exploited as a cheap workforce.  

Faltova still praised the largely welcoming attitude to the Ukrainians fleeing the Russian aggression.

“I am still surprised by the level of the positive response given the previous negative attitudes towards non-Ukrainian refugees in the country,” Faltova said in a clear allusion to the migration crisis peaking in 2015  when Czechia joined Hungarian and Polish leaders in blocking the EU response to the distribution scheme for the people fleeing violence in Syria and other parts of the Middle East.   

Zelenskiy and Pavel also discussed the situation at the front, and during the press conference, Pavel pointed out Czech interest in the renovation works in Ukraine. Pavel publicly praised Skoda JS and Skoda Transportation.

The Czech key nuclear service company Skoda JS was controlled by the Russian state-linked Gazprombank before being taken over by the majority-state-owned energy utility CEZ to avoid EU sanctions. On the other hand, iconic train manufacturer Skoda Transportation of PPF Group supplied trains for the metro system in Vladimir Putin’s home city of St. Petersburg.