Czech opposition demands summoning of Russian ambassador over the fall of a Russian missile in Poland
Kyiv • UNN
The Czech government condemned the incident of the fall of a Russian Kh-101 missile on the territory of Poland. The opposition demands summoning the Russian ambassador to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and increasing defense spending.
The Czech government expressed solidarity with Poland over the fall of a Russian missile near Lublin. The opposition demands that the Russian ambassador be summoned to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports UNN citing "Radio Prague".
Context
On the night of July 30, during a massive Russian air attack on Ukraine, a missile fell on the territory of the Lublin Voivodeship. Today, Polish Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk confirmed that it was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. Poland scrambled fighter jets.
In total, about two dozen Russian missiles were heading towards Poland. Ukrainian air defense neutralized all but one, Tomczyk reported. The Russian missile crossed Polish airspace at 3:40 a.m. local time and fell into a field near the settlement of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin Voivodeship. The diameter of the crater was about 10 meters.
"The Czech Republic stands by Poland," wrote Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on social media X on July 30.
Details
Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Petr Macinka told iDNES.cz that he is "closely following the statements of Polish government representatives."
"I express solidarity with Poland and condemn the incident. The Czech Republic must increase defense spending and stop pretending that Russian aggression against Europe does not concern us," former Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský told iDNES.cz.
"If Poland confirms this report (that the missile was Russian), it will be an important milestone in Russian aggression against the free world. Russia is testing the limits of our reaction," said Martin Kupka, leader of the opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS), and called on Czech diplomacy to respond decisively. "We must respond clearly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs should immediately summon the Russian ambassador, and the Prime Minister should contact the head of the Polish government," Martin Kupka believes. He added that "the war is closer than we are ready to admit." "And it will not ask whether this fits into our budget right now," he emphasized.
Leader of the Pirate Party Zdeněk Hřib stated that this is a signal to the Babiš government, confirming the need to increase defense investments. "The greatest risk of further escalation and a threat to the security of the Czech Republic is inaction, ignoring the growing Russian aggressiveness, and postponing defense investments, which the current government is promoting," Zdeněk Hřib told iDNES.cz.
Chairman of the opposition TOP 09 party, Matěj Ondřej Havel, recalled that the Russian missile fell not far from the Czech Republic. "Only about 300 kilometers from the Czech borders. Russia has long been testing not only Ukraine. It is testing the resolve of all of Europe. Each subsequent incident shifts the boundaries of what the Kremlin allows itself," noted Ondřej Havel.
"This shows even more clearly how fatal a mistake it is that the government of Andrej Babiš underestimates the defense of the state and that the Czech Republic is not part of the project to strengthen joint missile defense," he added.
Chairman of the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) Jan Grolich did not yet want to comment on the situation. "Since it has not yet been fully investigated where the missile came from, I do not want to comment on the situation," he replied to a question from iDNES.cz.