Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský visited Kyiv on November 22-23. In addition to working meetings with President Zelensky or Foreign Minister Sybiha, he also attended a summit on food security, visited the Ochmatdyt Children’s Hospital and the demining project.
The visit took place a day after the launch of a Russian ballistic missile on the Dnipro. The goal of the trip was, in addition to expressing Czech support for Ukraine, also the exchange of information about current Ukrainian needs and the current international political situation.
On the first day of the visit, the Czech minister met with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrij Sybiha. “We discussed military and foreign aid to Ukraine with the minister, as well as support for Zelensky’s peace plan. I assured Minister Sybih that we will not leave Ukraine in this,” said Minister Lipavský after the meeting.
Head of diplomacy Lipavský also dealt directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Mr. President thanked the entire Czech nation for the support it has been expressing to Ukraine since the very beginning of the war. He appreciated the Czech ammunition initiative and I assured him that we will continue it next year as well,” said the head of Czech diplomacy. At the end of the meeting, he presented President Zelensky with a gift in the form of Pro-Kremlin Fairy Tales – a book from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs workshop that maps Russian propaganda in a light-hearted way. They also talked with the Ukrainian president about closer formats of mutual cooperation and support for civil society.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the “Grain for Ukraine” food security summit. “Thanks to Ukraine and this program, Ukraine is providing vital aid to countries around the world. Ukrainian grain must go where it is needed. By supporting countries that are in need, we limit possible Russian influence and thereby fight against Russian aggression,” said the head of Czech diplomacy during his speech at the summit.
The Minister’s program in Kyiv continued with a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, where the Minister spoke in particular about the support of Czech companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine or with the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Korniyenko.
In addition to bilateral meetings, the Minister’s program also included a meeting with the Crimean Tatars. The issue of human rights violations in Crimea and the situation of the Crimean Tatars is one of the key topics of the Czech Transformation Cooperation Program.
During his two-day working trip, Minister Lipavský also visited the HALO Trust project, which is financed by the Government Program Ukraine . The project helps demine the country, which according to some estimates is up to one-third mined.
The minister also visited the Ochmatdyt hospital, which was hit by a Russian missile in July this year, which damaged both the old buildings and the campus, which was only opened in 2022 . “The Czech Republic places special emphasis on humanitarian support in the field of healthcare. That is why we will provide a monetary donation of 5 million crowns to the Chernihiv Regional Children’s Hospital, which is also the main children’s hospital in the entire region, before the end of this year. This year, we will also provide approximately 480 propane butane heaters for the Dnepropetrovsk region, where people are displaced due to the destruction of the Kakhovka dam,” Minister Lipavský summarized part of the current humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
In addition to current topics, the minister did not forget historical events during the two-day visit. He laid flowers at the Memorial Wall of Ukrainian soldiers, together with the highest constitutional officials of Ukraine, he participated in the ceremony on the occasion of the Holodomor Victims’ Remembrance Day and honored the memory of the legionnaires at the plaque of the Czech Society.
