It doesn’t take long for visitors to Prague to figure out how the locals feel about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fifteen months since the war started, yellow and blue flags still seem to flutter in almost every city centre street.
The current Czech government – an ideologically varied five-party coalition united by its pro-EU and pro-western outlook – has played its part in supporting Ukraine’s successful war effort. As a proportion of GDP, Czech military aid to Ukraine has been among the most generous in the world. And when I meet Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, who is set to meet UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly this week, he is unequivocal about what a Ukrainian counteroffensive should aim to achieve.
Ukraine joining Nato ‘would not endanger anything other than Russian imperialism.’
‘Ukraine needs to completely liberate its territory within internationally recognised borders from 1991 including Crimea, and to be able to protect its sovereignty.
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