Ukraine update: Prague to reopen refugee center despite mayor’s objections

Prague will reopen its regional assistance center for Ukrainian refugees from July 11, said Mayor Zdeněk Hřib. He added that Prague, nevertheless, will do so based on the cabinet decision, but it lacks accommodation capacity and can only provide emergency accommodation in tent camps.

“From my point of view, this is a bad decision because it does not address the resolution of the situation where the number of refugees per inhabitant is up to four times higher than in some other regions,” Hřib said. Overloaded with refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine and with the city’s accommodation capacity exhausted, Prague closed the Refugee Assistance Center, located in Prague-Vysočany, in mid-June.

The signal to Russia must be clear, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said as he arrived for the NATO summit, which continues today in Madrid with talks by the North Atlantic Council, the decision-making body of NATO. “The signal against Russia must be clear. We will continue to support Ukraine and prevent Russia from continuing its aggressive policy,” Fiala said on behalf of Czechia.

He said Czechia would also support the strengthening of NATO’s common budget and NATO’s new strategic concept, which clearly mentions Russia as a threat. Fiala also said the big news from the summit was that Turkey would not block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO.