Czech President Petr Pavel said today in Prague, at a rally in support of Ukraine on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's attack on that country, that it is clear that Russia is the aggressor, that it has violated international law, that it is clear who the victim is and whose side the Czechs should be on, because their security is also at stake.
"When we hear disputes about who the aggressor in that war is, who the victim is, who is behind the war, whether it was not by chance that Ukraine provoked the war itself, whether it was an aggressive NATO that is constantly expanding to the east, I think we need to clarify the basic facts. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine did not want anything other than what we wanted. That is, to be a sovereign country, within internationally recognized borders and to follow the path it chooses," said Pavel.
The Czech president recalled that Russia guaranteed Ukraine exactly this, first with the Budapest Memorandum, when it wanted Ukraine to hand over its nuclear weapons, and later with a bilateral agreement, which it violated when it first annexed Crimea and then attacked all of Ukraine in 2022.
Pavel warned that it is "striking" how similar the fate of Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, which Hitler's Germany, with the blessing of the great powers, dismembered based on the Munich Agreement in 1938, and the fate of today's Ukraine are.
"Czechoslovakia did not defend itself, and Ukraine defended itself and is defending itself to this day, heroically and with enormous efforts. If we do not want the law of the stronger to prevail in the world, if we want international law, laws, the UN Charter to prevail, we must help Ukraine because its defeat would be ours as well," said Pavel.
The Czech president warned that Europe must be far more assertive, that its voice be heard more loudly, and not just wait for what will come from the US.
"We see different approaches to conflict resolution. Some are pragmatic, to put it mildly, some are an abandonment of the principles and values of the West of recent decades. The long-term strategic interest should not be to give in to dictators and abandon the principles on which today's world order is based. That would come back to haunt us all," said the Czech president.
Petr Pavel categorically rejected the possibility of negotiating peace without Ukraine, as was negotiated with Hitler in Munich, without Czechoslovakia.
"We should not hesitate to help Ukraine. If Ukraine enters the negotiations weakened, perhaps a peace will be agreed upon, but not a just one. We should insist on the principle that the aggressor must not be rewarded," said the Czech president.
Tens of thousands of Czechs, including entire families with children, came to the central square of Prague's historic center with Ukrainian flags, balloons or scarves in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, banners with the messages "For lasting peace - a united Europe" or "One for all, all for Europe" and slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The rally, organized by Czech non-governmental organizations, humanitarian such as "Man in Need" or human rights such as "A Million Moments for Democracy", began with the bells of the old Church of the Holy Mother of God in front of Tyn, and ended with a procession with candles and sunflowers through the center of Prague to the monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Švečenko, on the other bank of the Vltava River.
Across the Czech Republic, in dozens of cities, thousands of Czechs are gathering at similar rallies to express support for Ukraine and reiterate their promise to continue helping it until the war ends and a just peace is agreed upon.
Bonus video:
