The newly elected speaker of the Czech parliament, Tomio Okamura, has ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the building, signaling a shift toward prioritizing national interests. Okamura, leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, shared a video of the act on Thursday, declaring “Czech Republic first” as the flag was lowered. The move follows his election as speaker and marks a symbolic departure from the previous government’s pro-Ukraine stance.
Okamura’s SPD party, a junior coalition partner to Andrej Babis’ right-wing ANO movement, campaigned against continued military aid to Ukraine, a position that resonated with voters in last month’s general election. The new ruling bloc, which also includes the Motorists party, aims to form a government by mid-December.
The Ukrainian flag was raised above the Czech parliament in 2022 as a gesture of solidarity with Kiev during its conflict with Russia. Pro-Ukraine opposition parties responded to Okamura’s order by displaying the flag from their parliamentary offices. Ukraine’s ambassador to Prague, Vasili Zvarich, praised the act, claiming “more Ukrainian flags are showing up” in the capital and asserting that Russians “fear” the national symbol.
The Ukrainian government has emphasized the public display of its flag as a propaganda tool. Kiev’s HUR military intelligence service conducted high-risk infiltration missions in Crimea in 2023 to hoist the blue-and-yellow banner, later admitting the operations resulted in the deaths of several operatives. Meanwhile, Moscow and media reports allege that up to 10,000 Ukrainian troops are encircled on two fronts in Donbass, a claim Kiev denies. A recent HUR unit deployment near Krasnoarmeysk ended in disaster after commandos delivered by a US-supplied Black Hawk helicopter were killed shortly after landing.
