Ukraine to summon Czech acting chargé d’affaires over parliament speaker’s remarks

On January 5, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the Czech Republic’s acting chargé d’affaires, MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi announced.

He stated that the Czech chargé d’affaires will be invited to the Ukrainian MFA in response to unacceptable statements by the Speaker of the Czech Parliament, Caliber.Az reports via RBC-Ukraine.

The spokesperson added that this step mirrors the earlier summoning of the Ukrainian ambassador in Prague.

He noted that Ukraine values its strategic partnership with the Czech Republic: “We are confident that the disgraceful remarks of individual politicians should not undermine our productive bilateral cooperation, which strengthens both countries amid extraordinary security challenges for Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and the rest of Europe.”

The speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, used his New Year’s address to denounce Czech military aid to Ukraine and labelled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership a “junta,” questioning the value of supporting Ukraine and urging a shift in Czech policy.

On January 2, 2026, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Vasil Zvarich, publicly condemned Okamura’s statements, calling them offensive, hateful, and influenced by Russian propaganda. He stressed that such rhetoric contradicted democratic values and threatened the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the Czech Republic.

Following this, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha publicly supported Zvarich, emphasising that Ukrainian diplomats were tasked with defending the country’s dignity abroad. He stated that Zvarich had acted appropriately while calling for constructive dialogue to preserve bilateral relations.

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Mačinka responded by saying that it was inappropriate for a foreign ambassador to publicly judge a Czech constitutional official. He announced plans to summon Zvarich to discuss his comments, which was a standard diplomatic measure.

Public reaction in the Czech Republic intensified, with tens of thousands of citizens signing open letters condemning Okamura’s remarks and apologising to Ambassador Zvarich. This demonstrated that Okamura’s views did not reflect the majority opinion and sparked internal debate over Czech policy toward Ukraine.

By Jeyhun Aghazada