The Czech Republic is one of the most reliable allies of Ukraine in countering the aggression of the Russian Federation, this course should intensify after the victory of the retired General Petr Pavel in the last presidential election.
Retired general, former chairman of the NATO military committee Petr Pavel won the presidential election in the Czech Republic. In the second round of the election, the 61-year-old general defeated his rival, former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Why is this result so positive for Ukraine?
Combat General
The elections in the Czech Republic were the first in which the topic of the war in Ukraine took center stage, putting most issues on the national agenda in the background. Petr Pavel ran for the presidency for the first time. He managed to make the best possible military career – he reached the post of Chairman of the General Staff of the Czech Republic. At the same time, Pavel is a military general. The most notable stage of his military career was the participation in a peacekeeping mission in Yugoslavia in 1993 – then the Czechoslovak battalion, which he led, as a lieutenant colonel, under enemy fire, was managed to evacuate from the French military base Karin. 55 French troops were saved. For this mission, Paul was awarded a French military cross, and then became an officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor.
From 2015 to 2018, General Pavel served as the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee – this is the second position in the Alliance after the Secretary General. Such a high position in NATO has never been held by any citizen of either the Czech Republic or any other Central and Eastern European state.
Pavel’s tenure as NATO coincided with the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbass. The general has consistently emphasized that Putin’s Russian Federation is a greater threat to the free world than ISIS, and has supported aid to Ukraine, including the provision of weapons.
The position in NATO is something of a “hybrid” between a purely military position and the work of a politician. Not surprisingly, immediately after his resignation from military service, Petr Pavel began to be considered as a potential presidential candidate. Although he didn’t confirm it until last year, for the past five years it’s been clear he’s been preparing to move into politics.
About Ukraine
Pavel has already announced that although he plans to make his first international visit as president to Slovakia, after that, together with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Chaputova, he plans to visit Ukraine. Therefore, the support for Ukraine by the Czech Republic, which is already very important, will not only remain, but also increase.
Pavel believes that Russia must be defeated, and for this Ukraine needs more arms supplies. In addition, he supports our country’s accession to NATO.
“We all want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, so that its territorial integrity is restored within the initial limits, so that Russia pays the damage, and the war criminals are brought to justice. The question is what can be achieved from it. I think that the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine will be the minimum achievement for the state until February 24, 2022,” said Peter Pavel.
“People need to be explained that supporting Ukraine is the only possible way and we need to express solidarity,” said Petr Pavel. “The kind of international relations that Russia is trying to insist on in Ukraine is not in the interest of the Czech Republic, so admit that far from the Czech borders, the rules have been violated, it is impossible.”
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.