The city council of Jihlava has voted to keep the Ukrainian flag flying on the town hall building, rejecting two separate proposals to remove it, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported.
Following an hour-long debate, the council voted down motions submitted by opposition councilor Richard Schleis from the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), and by Hana Šíma, a member of the ruling coalition’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS). The proposals were rejected by 24 and 25 votes respectively, with only five councilors supporting the flag’s removal in both cases.
“The flag hangs there because we want to use this gesture to support a country that has been attacked by someone stronger,” said Mayor Petr Ryška, representing ODS and the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL).
Schleis argued that the Ukrainian flag has been on the town hall for more than two years. “During that time, many things have changed,” he said. He claimed society is divided into two irreconcilable camps and believed removing the flag could help bring people closer together.
Councilor Šíma supported this view, saying that the Ukrainian flag “stirs up society.” She claimed that armed conflicts exist elsewhere in the world without flags being displayed on the Jihlava town hall.
Vojtěch Šoula from the Mayors and Independents party (STAN) opposed removing the flag, saying, “I definitely don’t want to take down the Ukrainian flag at a time when civilian casualties in Ukraine are only increasing.”
Most representatives from the ODS and Christian Democrats coalition, with the exception of Šíma, supported keeping the flag flying, as did representatives from other political groups except for SPD. Some councilors noted that the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod is a sister city to Jihlava.
According to the Czech Ministry of Interior, 393,858 Ukrainian refugees were living in the Czech Republic as of 31 January.
The Czech Republic has been supporting Ukrainian since Russian full-scale invasion in 2022. The Czech Republic supports Ukraine by supplying artillery shells through initiatives like Initiative-2025, which involves Czech arms manufacturers and international donors to produce and deliver ammunition critical for Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.
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