Around 800 people gathered at Prague's Old Town Square on Saturday for the "Together for Ukraine" rally marking the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ceske Noviny reported
Czech President Petr Pavel joined the crowd, mingling with demonstrators before the event officially began. Participants carried Ukrainian and Czech flags, while organizers handed out smaller paper flags. Some brought banners reading "Fuck Putin," "Stop Imperial Russia," and "Long Live Ukraine." Several messages also thanked Czechs for their support of Ukraine.
An hour before the rally, a ceremony took place at the same square to honor Czech citizens who died as volunteers in Ukraine's Armed Forces. Panels prepared by the Memory of the Nation organization in cooperation with the Waves of Solidarity initiative told the stories of six fallen volunteers: Tomáš Zavazal, Martin Krejčí, Karel Kučera, Michal Janík, Vladimír Přibyl, and Jiří Kotrla.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Czechia Vasyl Zvarych, who attended the ceremony, called the Czech fighters heroes. "We will do everything so that their sacrifice is rewarded by our victory," he said.
The rally was organized by Memory of the Nation, People in Need, Million Moments for Democracy, Thank You for Being Here, and the European Congress of Ukrainians. Former hockey goaltender Dominik Hašek was also among the speakers.
Rallies and marches took place across Czech and Moravian cities on Saturday. In Pilsen and 16 other cities, a life-size model of the drone Russia uses to attack Ukrainian civilians was put on public display, according to the report.
The anniversary is also being marked at the European level. The European Parliament is set to hold an extraordinary session to consider a resolution on the war. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a meeting of the "coalition of the determined" in support of Ukraine on Tuesday. The EU also expects to approve its 20th sanctions package to coincide with the anniversary, though there are conflicting signals on whether that timeline will hold.
