Petr Pavel arrives in Odesa during a large-scale Russian attack

Czech President Petr Pavel arrived in Ukraine on Friday, March 21, for an official visit. He is in Odesa, which was attacked by enemy drones at night. 

This was reported by Oleksii Kuleba, Minister of Municipalities and Regional Development of Ukraine, on Telegram.

Pavel's visit to Odesa

"I am pleased to welcome the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel to Ukraine.  We met in the city of Odesa, which is being terrorized by Russia every night. During our meeting, the Russian Federation launched three groups of Shahed drones on the city," Kuleba said. 

Two leaders discussed key issues of shipping safety, Ukraine's recovery and the development of Ukrainian communities. According to the Minister, the Czech Republic is one of the leading countries providing systematic assistance to Ukraine — during the three years of full-scale war, the country provided $900 million in assistance. This included the transfer of Neptune anti-ship systems based on Czech Tatra vehicles.

"Since the summer of 2023 alone, Russia has fired more than 450 missiles at Ukraine's port infrastructure, but today we remain the guarantor of global food security. Since the start of the Ukrainian corridor, our ports have transported 110 million tons of cargo," Kuleba said.

Assistance in rebuilding

At the same time, the Czech Republic remains a reliable partner for Ukraine in rebuilding communities and regions. It has taken over the patronage of the Dnipro region, where it is renovating water treatment plants, supplying generators, medical equipment and evacuation buses, and rebuilding schools and hospitals. In the Kyiv region, the Czech Republic is implementing a large-scale project to modernize the regional children's hospital for more than €10 million and has dozens of projects in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Lviv regions.

They also discussed effective reconstruction and sustainable development in Ukraine. Kuleba invited Pavel to participate in a conference on Ukraine's reconstruction to be held in Rome this summer.

Help from the Czech Republic

The two countries also agreed to expand humanitarian assistance to war-affected regions of Ukraine. This includes providing temporary shelter for those who have lost their homes and support for medical facilities. Together with the heads of the regional military administrations of Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson, they discussed further direct assistance.

"We are grateful to the Czech Republic and personally to President Petr Pavel for their unwavering support of Ukraine in this difficult time. Together we will overcome all difficulties and restore a just peace," Kuleba added.

Previously, the European Council in Strasbourg hosted the first day of the Summit on Thursday, March 20. It is attended by Speakers and Presidents of the Parliaments of 46 member states and partner countries.

Earlier, in December, the Czech Republic has recognized the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars as an act of genocide.