The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, signed an article about the war in the Ukrainian publication “European Truth”, in which he notes that Putin’s war against Ukraine has been going on for a year and that the death toll on both sides is constantly increasing, as well as missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and the maliciousness of the Russian military caused thousands of deaths of innocent civilians.

Lipavskyi also notes that more than eight million Ukrainians were forced to leave their country because of the war.

Below is an article from European Pravda signed by the head of Czech diplomacy Jan Lipavsky:

“More and more people in the Czech Republic and Europe are asking for peace, and I am among them. But we do not seek peace at any price, because for us it may have unforeseen consequences. Some believe that peace will come if Ukrainians recognize Russia’s claims to the territory of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, if Ukraine refuses to join the EU and NATO and fulfills at least some of the Kremlin’s other demands.

Even if the Ukrainians had surrendered, peace would not have come. He would not come because Vladimir Putin, who is supported by his entourage and a large part of the Russian population, does not want peace. Vladimir Putin wants war, he likes war, and he believes that war is the way to restore Russia’s superpower status and force Ukraine, and with it the entire world, to forgive him for breaking the rules in any way and in any place.

Russia attacked Ukraine last February and even in 2014, as well as Georgia in 2008, because it considered these countries weak, and the Kremlin was sure that no one would protect them, that the advance of the Russian army would not meet resistance. and no one will support these countries. This was the case in Georgia in 2008 and in Ukraine in 2014, when Putin’s troops occupied Crimea and unleashed a war in the east of the country. Ukraine was weak, our response was uncertain, and sanctions were not effective enough.

At that time, most Western politicians believed that it was necessary to deal with Putin and that it was possible to negotiate with him. The offender perceives every concession and weakness as an encouragement to continue aggression and increase his demands. We are in the same position that Czechoslovakia was in before the Second World War.

At the Munich meeting, European statesmen gave Hitler a piece of our territory and were convinced that they had bargained for peace, at least for the foreseeable future. However, in less than six months, the fascists came to power in Slovakia, and Nazi Germany occupied the rest of the Czech territories, and again in less than six months, the military and industrial potential of the Czech Republic allowed Nazi Germany to start World War II.

Therefore, we cannot allow Putin to force Ukraine to go to peace, a peace that would be for him only a temporary respite and an opportunity to prepare for the next, more destructive war. Therefore, we support Ukraine and its efforts aimed at liberating the east of the country and Crimea. Peace will come when Ukraine regains control over its borders, and the army and the state as a whole will be so strong that Russia will not even try to continue the war. True, this will not happen immediately, and yes, it may take several months.

A broken, destroyed, undemocratic and weak Ukraine, which Vladimir Putin dreams of, would be a threat to the security of Czech citizens and the whole of Europe. Therefore, we must protect Ukraine so that it can restore its borders, strengthen the EU and NATO, become a new opportunity for Czech companies and entrepreneurs in the field of trade, investment and reconstruction of the country.”

The article was created with the support of the Rador agency