'Ukraine needs political & moral help, but above all it needs weapons': Czech Republic PM

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala on Sunday backed additional military aid for war-torn Ukraine, stating that besides moral and political help, the country required weapons to defend itself against Russia. Speaking to local media, Fiala shared that in recent days, the Czech Republic had sent weapons that had been directly requested by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine needs all the help. It needs political, moral help, but above all it needs weapons. It needs these in order to defend itself against a much stronger Russian army. In recent days, we have sent weapons that were directly requested to me by the President of Ukraine," said the Czech Republic PM. 

Since the onset of Russia's military offensive, the country has sent machine guns as well as sniper rifles to Ukraine. Last week, Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said that weapons worth 400 million Czech crowns (18 million US dollars) had been approved by the government. The country has agreed to send more machine guns, submachine guns, assault rifles and pistols together with ammunition worth 188 million Czech crowns (8.6 million US dollars).

Czech Republic welcomes influx of refugees

Apart from military aid, the Czech Republic has also extended humanitarian aid to the nation and has welcomed a large number of refugees. Around 30,000 Ukrainians have already entered the Czech Republic since Russia on February 24, launched the military operation in Ukraine in the name of 'demilitarising' its former Soviet ally. 

To deal with the refugee influx, the government declared a 30-day state of emergency from March 4. Czech Republic's Interior Ministry has estimated that around 5,000 refugees arrive in the country each day. "It is not a state of emergency for the citizens of the Czech Republic. We are introducing a state of emergency to cope with the influx of refugees," PM Fiala was quoted as saying.

It has also planned to pay 200 euros per month to refugees from Ukraine. The refugees will be able to receive payments within three months of arriving in the country.