Czech, Slovak presidents visit Ukraine

The new Czech president, Petr Pavel, and his Slovak counterpart, Zuzana Čaputová, have arrived in Ukraine together.

The presidents arrived by train in Nemišajevo, where they were met by, among others, the Czech ambassador to Ukraine and former Ukrainian ambassador to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis. From there, they apparently travelled to cities in Kyiv Oblast that were under occupation late in February and March 2022, European Pravda reports, referring to Czech media, including IDNES.

On his official Twitter account, Petr Pavel posted a photo of them standing in front of a damaged house, probably in the city of Borodianka.

"Zuzana Čaputová and I share the values of freedom and justice. It is hard to see with my own eyes that Ukrainians are paying the highest price for this, with the blood and lives of their citizens. The fight against the aggressor protects what unites us," commented Pavel.

"Last night's shameful attacks on several Ukrainian cities, including Uman and Dnipro, which killed innocent people, remind us that we cannot turn our backs," Čaputová wrote on Facebook.

She added that the joint visit to Ukraine with President Pavel confirms a new era of relations between the leaders of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "This is our first foreign trip together, and I am glad that we have arrived in Ukraine. Our message is clear: we are united with Ukraine not only by our borders and common past, but also by our common future," Čaputová added.

During the visit, the presidents will meet with head of the Ukrainian state Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a number of other officials.

For Petr Pavel, this is his first trip to Ukraine; he agreed with Kyiv on it shortly after his inauguration. At the time, it was agreed that he would travel with the president of Slovakia, who already visited Ukraine after the outbreak of full-scale war.