Ukraine Update: Reports are spreading of shops in Prague refusing entry to Ukrainians. It’s a fake.

The Czech Republic has provided Ukraine with vehicles, weapons and other military aid worth more than 3.5 billion crowns, Defense Minister Jana Černochová told the Czech television. Černochová said it would offer additional deliveries worth 600-700 million crowns. She also confirmed that the Czech Republic was sending heavy military equipment to Ukraine.

“What matters is that the aid is continuous,” Černochová said. She added that the Ministry of Defense was working with the Ukrainian Embassy in Prague to buy weapons and military equipment from the money donated directly to the embassy. So far, he has received around 1.2 billion crowns in donations.

Černochová declined to confirm or deny news that the Czech Republic had sent helicopter gunships to Ukraine, as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Monday.

A clothing store near Karlínské náměstí has ​​found itself in the middle of a disinformation scandal. On Thursday, a local news server posted photos on social media of two shops in Prague, which appeared to have “No Ukrainians from entering” signs in their windows. However, the owners of both stores said the photo, widely shared on social media, was a photomontage and that they did not hang the signs, Aktuálně.cz reported.

The store owner said he experienced the war himself and would never post anything like it. “I have a lot of friends from Ukraine and Russia. I’m not interested in politics at all. It’s one hundred percent photomontage. I’m from Palestine, so I know what war means. J lost a lot of friends and family, I can’t be against Ukraine, [where] there is a disaster,” he said. Shop owners are now considering consulting lawyers; they assume their competitors might be behind it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address both chambers of the Czech parliament via video conference on June 15, their presidents Miloš Vystrčil and Markéta Pekarová Adamová told reporters today.

The Chamber of Deputies can also nominate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the highest Czech state decoration called the Order of the White Lion. He is now on the preliminary list of candidates and President Miloš Zeman said in early March that he had decided to comply with the proposal.

The British newspaper The Guardian describes the refugee situation at Prague’s central station as a “festering crisis” in an article published today. The cover describes the poor conditions in which hundreds of people sleep at the station and discusses the attitude of the Czech authorities.

Czech authorities say many refugees have dual nationality and hold Hungarian passports that make them EU nationals. According to the rules, EU citizens are not entitled to temporary protection in the Czech Republic. Speaking to The Guardian, OPU crisis coordinator Geti Mubeen said only a fifth of the refugees at the station had Hungarian nationality. Anti-Roma prejudice is an obstacle, he added.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib and Interior Minister Vít Rakušan finally reached consensus on the refugee crisis at Prague’s main train station. Another tented camp will open at Malešice in Prague, although Hřib still insists on the redistribution of refugees between regions, noting the limited capacity of schools in busy areas. Meanwhile, artillery sent to Ukraine from the Czech Republic has been spotted fighting in southern Ukraine.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin thanked the Czech Republic for its donation of helicopters, tanks and rocket systems to Ukraine, after a virtual meeting with representatives of allied countries. No information on the delivery of helicopters had previously been communicated. The Czech army uses, among other things, Russian Mi-24/35 combat helicopters. Media previously announced the delivery of Dana self-propelled artillery guns, RM-70 Grad multiple rocket launchers, Soviet-made T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The Czech Ministry of Defense declined to confirm the list and does not want to disclose the precise value of the military equipment delivered to Ukraine.