Praguers, and Czech President, Double Down on Support for Ukraine

The president also called on Europe to take a substantially more assertive role in resolving the war in Ukraine and not wait for the United States to act.

Although popular support for Ukrainian refugees is slipping, a large rally in Prague, with the president and celebrities in attendance, recently showed that many Czechs still support Ukraine’s struggle.

This was palpable on Old Town Square on 23 February, exemplified by an address from President Petr Pavel and a crowd estimated at tens of thousands, many waving Czech and Ukrainian flags on the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. Signs expressed strong opposition to Russia, calling for more weapons for Ukraine and labeling Russia as a terrorist state.

“In our history, we know what it’s like to be attacked by the Russians,” said documentary filmmaker Amalie Kovarova, one of the event’s organizers. Alluding to the Soviet-led invasion in 1968, she called it “a great social trauma. I think that’s why the topic of the war in Ukraine is so vivid for the Czechs, and for me personally.”

Several Czech civil society groups, including the international humanitarian organization People in Need, planned the rally and subsequent march through Prague.

In his speech, Pavel – formerly NATO’s top military officer – also touched on the historical parallels between the 20th-century experiences of the Czechs and Ukraine today.

“If we look at history, the history of Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s and the history of Ukraine are strikingly similar,” he told the crowd.

Call to Respect International Law

The phrase “Glory to the Czech Republic, glory to Ukraine” echoed throughout most speeches at the rally. In his opening remarks, Pavel said that since the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukrainians have held the same hope for their country that the Czechs did for their own: sovereignty. 

“From what happened, I think that it is clear who is the aggressor, who violated international law, and who is the victim, whose side should we be on,” Pavel said. “Because international law protects us as well …” The danger in allowing violations of the international order is that “the aggressor will only feel strengthened by the fact that international law only applies to some and not to others.”

The president also called on Europe to take a substantially more assertive role in resolving the war in Ukraine and not wait for the United States to act. Europe should make its priorities clear to the majority of Americans, he said.

Several Czech celebrities spoke at the rally, expressing their support for Ukraine. Actress Jitka Cvancarova introduced a group of Ukrainian children who had returned from Russian deportation and spoke of the hundreds of Ukrainian children killed in the war and the thousands injured or kidnapped at the hands of the Russian army. 

“These are children whose stories we must tell out loud so that we do not forget all the others who are still under the control of the Russians who stole their voices and silenced them,” Cvancarova said. 

The Ukrainian Experience in the Czech Republic

Many of the Ukrainians at the rally expressed gratitude for the support that the Czechs have shown them over the past three years. Since the first weeks of the war, the Czech Republic has given protection to more refugees per capita than any other EU country. 

Sofia – a Charles University student from Mariupol, Ukraine who didn’t want to share her full name – explained how she came to Prague after the start of the war so she could safely pursue her studies. Mariupol was largely destroyed when it fell under Russian control after a three-month siege in 2022. Sofia’s family fled to Kyiv, where they remain today. She feels supported by Europe and hopes the assistance will continue.

“I’m here to support my people,” she said. “And say, ‘thank you’ to the Czech Republic.”

“I feel very supported. I’m very thankful for all these people, especially Czechs,” said Rita Novoseletska, a Ukrainian who has been residing in the Czech Republic for the last eight years. Noting the presence at the rally of many Czechs and other non-Ukrainians, she said, “It was surprising for me, and I’m very thankful that they came here today.” 

According to UNHCR, 6.9 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded globally, among whom roughly 400,000 reside in the Czech Republic – only Poland and Germany host more refugees. This influx has put pressure on housing costs and on the mostly low-skilled job sectors where many Ukrainians have found employment. Research from CVVM, the public opinion center of the Institute of Sociology at the Czech Academy of Sciences, indicates that 60% of the Czech public believes that the country has taken in more refugees from Ukraine than it is able to handle. Only 29% of those polled in a recent survey were interested in the situation regarding refugees from Ukraine.

Another recent poll by the STEM research agency made similar findings.

“As in previous surveys, there are more people in the Czech Republic who consider Ukrainian refugees to be a threat to the country’s development (49%) rather than an asset/benefit (34%),” although this may be changing toward a more negative stance, STEM reported. The agency’s January poll found that while 84% of respondents agree that Ukrainian families should be allowed to stay in the country “if they work, learn Czech, and comply with Czech laws,” almost two in three felt that the government should stop the entry of any more Ukrainians.

Czech Support for Ukraine

Although such polls suggest that Czech support for the war in Ukraine has decreased in the last year, the scene in Prague on 23 February demonstrated that at least the more liberal, urban Czechs remain staunchly pro-Ukrainian.

The government has also been one of the most outspoken defenders of Ukraine in Europe, channeling some 2.5 billion euros to humanitarian aid and assistance for refugees. 

Jiri Vyskocil, a Czech attendee at the rally, explained the close ties that he and many other Czechs feel for the Ukrainians. Even before the war, he said that every Czech knew at least one Ukrainian.

“There’s bombs falling on their cities almost every day,” Vyskocil said. “Maybe this doesn’t make the main news every day because we kind of got used to it. It’s still not normal. It’s still not something we should consider to be normal, and it’s something we should fight about.”

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Reporting by Transitions editorial intern Madeleine Long, a graduate of the University of Richmond. Photos and additional reporting by Shrijan Pandey, a student of journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar and also a Transitions editorial intern.