Prime Minister Fiala held a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiev on further aid and sanctions against Russia

On Tuesday, 15 March 2022, Prime Minister Petr Fiala, together with the Prime Ministers of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, and Slovenia, Janez Janša, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Jarosław Kaczyński, visited the Ukrainian capital Kiev, besieged by Russian aggressors, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The delegation of politicians expressed their admiration for the courage with which the country is facing the brutal Russian aggression and pledged further humanitarian and material aid.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala and other members of the delegation discussed with Ukrainian President Zelenský and Prime Minister Shmyhal further options for helping Ukraine, which is now in its third week of resisting the Russian occupation. “We discussed four basic areas: firstly, the issue of sanctions, their effectiveness and, if necessary, some other possible steps. We also discussed humanitarian aid, military aid and the possibility of further diplomatic steps and a diplomatic solution to the situation” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala summed up the main points of the meeting.

According to the Czech Prime Minister, the fiercely defending Ukraine urgently needs further supplies of weapons and military equipment. “The Czech Republic is doing it, the countries that took part in this mission are also doing it, and it is necessary to do it more vigorously and to do it in as many countries as possible so that the deliveries are fast and, if possible, extensive,” Prime Minister Fiala stated.

At a meeting in Russian-besieged Kiev, politicians also addressed other issues, such as the possibility of offering Russian deserting soldiers asylum in an EU or NATO country, the issue of strengthening the diplomatic representation of EU countries in Ukraine and, of course, the issue of sanctions imposed by the democratic world on the Russian Federation. “We have received some inspiration for improving or deepening those sanctions which undoubtedly work, but which can be strengthened and can work even better,” Prime Minister Fiala said.

The EU politicians present expressed their great admiration for the bravery and courage with which the people of their country are resisting Russian superiority. “We all see it, but I had the opportunity to see it with my own eyes and to understand even better what they are going through, what they have to cope with. And the fact that they can do so deserves our great admiration and respect,” Prime Minister Fiala said, underlining the symbolic significance of the trip to besieged Kiev.

“We are all aware of what they are experiencing. They are fighting for their lives, for their families, for their homeland, for their independence, for freedom. But we must know and we must realise that they are also fighting for us, for our independence, for our freedom, and we must support them in that fight. That is why we went there in person. We went there to let them know that they are not alone, to show them by specific actions that we stand with them and that we realise what they are doing for us at this moment,” the Prime Minister pointed out and thanked his fellow politicians and members of the Czech delegation for the opportunity to carry out such a mission and for their personal courage and decision to take part in this event, which was not without risk.