Ukraine supports Czech Republic's reaction to activities of Russian special services

According to the report, this issue was discussed at a meeting between Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar and Czech Ambassador to Ukraine Radek Matula.

The Ukrainian diplomat informed the Czech ambassador about the Russian side's continuing to implement the strategy of escalation and a military build-up on the borders with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Both parties also discussed the Czech Republic's decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats suspected of working for the Russian secret services.

"The ambassador of the Czech Republic spoke in detail about the reasons for such a reaction, which was caused by the convincing evidence of Russian special services' involvement in explosions at an ammunition depot near Vrbetice in October 2014. He thanked Ukraine for its political solidarity with the Czech authorities in their reaction to Russia's destructive activities in the Czech Republic," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the report, both parties emphasized the importance of intensifying cooperation between Ukraine and the Czech Republic in various areas and discussed preparations for bilateral political consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers, scheduled for May this year.

The Czech government on April 17 announced its decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats who, according to the Czech side, are employees of the Russian secret services.

Russia, in turn, decided to expel 20 employees of the Czech Embassy in Russia (16 of them diplomats) in response to the Czech Republic's decision.

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