Czech, Polish parliament speakers arrive in Kyiv

The President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Milos Vystrcil and several Czech senators have arrived in Kyiv at the invitation of Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk.

That's according to the Czech news site Novinky, Ukrinform reports.

Czech Senate Vice President Jiri Ruzicka, Senator Pavel Fischer, as well as Polish senators led by Marshal Tomasz Grodzki also arrived by train with Vystrcil, the statement said.

"We are ready to speak in the Ukrainian parliament, and I assume that we will also visit villages in the [Kyiv] suburbs that were significantly damaged by the Russian aggressor, including the genocide that took place there," Vystrcil said upon arrival in Kyiv.

Early on Thursday, Vystrcil posted a joint photo of the senators on the train with the comment "There are invitations that are not rejected."

A month ago, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Kyiv together with his Polish and Slovenian counterparts Mateusz Morawiecki and Janez Jansa, as well as with Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. In the Ukrainian capital, they met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The purpose of their visit was a show of support for Ukraine.

Last week, the Czech Senate approved an opinion that Russia should bear the brunt of the war against Ukraine, including the payment of reparations. The upper house of the Czech parliament also stated that the killing of civilians in Ukrainian settlements has all signs of a war crime under international law, that the abduction of the Ukrainian population to Russia is unjustified, and that Russian officials responsible for war crimes should be brought to justice and punished. The lower house adopted an almost identical resolution.

Photo credit: twitter.com/Vystrcil_Milos