Czech president arrives in Ukraine
Czech President Petr Pavel has arrived on an unannounced visit to Ukraine.
That is according to the Czech news agency CTK, Ukrinform reports.
Pavel began his visit on January 15 with a trip to Lviv, where he held meetings with local officials, in particular, with the head of the regional military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, and Minister for Veterans Affairs Natalia Kalmykova. He spoke, among other things, with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleksandr Mischenkov about what mutual assistance in defense could look like, for example, in the field of countering drones.
Photo: Lviv Regional Military Administration
Photo: CTK/Blažej Adam
For his part, Kozytskyi said that the key topic of the meeting was the consequences of the enemy attack that Lviv experienced and further security cooperation.
Accompanied by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi and other representatives, Pavel also attended a memorial service at the Lychakiv Cemetery, where he honored fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
Photo: CTK/Blažej Adam
Pavel is scheduled to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
The theme of the current trip is primarily to express support for Ukraine, which has been facing a large-scale Russian invasion for almost four years. The Czech president also wants to point out the humanitarian aspect of the war and the need to rebuild the country.
This is Pavel's third trip to Ukraine as head of state. In April 2023, in addition to Kyiv, he also visited Dnipro and Odesa.
The Czech Republic's new foreign minister, Petr Macinka, visited Kyiv on January 9.
First photo: Lviv Regional Military Administration