President Zeman allows Czech nationals to fight for Ukraine

President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, has approved participation of more than 100 citizens in the war against Russia on Ukraine’s side.

Spokesman Jiri Ovcacek delivered the news via Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

"President of the Republic Milos Zeman signed a decision to consent to 103 citizens joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine based on their application submitted in accordance with Law 855/2004 On Military Service and its Support,” the tweet reads.

The decision is yet to be approved by Prime Minister Peter Fiala.

"The Prime Minister will sign the President's consent to the Czech citizens joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine in all cases where the application was positively assessed by three relevant ministries," spokesman Vaclav Smolka told Seznam. These are the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs.

Earlier, this media outlet reported that more than 500 Czechs had expressed willingness to fight on the side of Ukraine.

In early March, Fiala agreed with Zeman that persons going to fight for Ukraine would not be considered criminals. But the issue remained with the application approval procedure.

Several people who had fought on the side of Russian proxy forces in Donbass were subsequently convicted in the Czech Republic over the past years.

Photo: CTK / Deml Ondrej