A donation agreement for a gift of CZK 5 million to Ukraine as humanitarian aid was signed on Tuesday 5 April 2022 in the seat of the Pilsen Region by President of the Pilsen Region Rudolf Špoták and Yevhen Perebyinis, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Czech Republic. This signing took place after a meeting among the regional leadership, as represented by Rudolf Špoták and his deputies Josef Bernard and Petr Vanka. The region’s representatives had approved the provision of this gift to the Ukrainian embassy one day earlier, during their Monday meeting.
“We are providing this donation to the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic as humanitarian aid because of an exceptional event, the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine’s territory, and leaving it up to the embassy to assess and decide how best to spend these funds,” said President of the Pilsen Region Rudolf Špoták during the signing ceremony. He emphasised that solidarity and aid are fundamental in the case of Ukraine and that it is therefore entirely reasonable for the embassy to decide on its own how to distribute this financial aid. He added that the funds donated to the embassy are a guarantee they will remain in the Czech Republic if circumstances in the war-torn country change.
“We greatly appreciate the aid you are providing to Ukraine – both humanitarian and financial. You have our thanks for it. It is very important to us. What we need now is above all to purchase weapons so that we can defend our country,” declared ambassador Yevhen Perebyinis, who then specified that the money from the Pilsen Region will go to an account established by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic that is earmarked exclusively for purchasing weapons from Czech companies. “This investment is a good investment, because we are defending not only our own country from the aggressor, but also the Czech Republic and Europe. We want to liberate our cities and communities, to defend our territory. This is an investment meant to help towards a state wherein peace once again reigns in Ukraine. There is much that we need – medicines, food, fuel. Two weeks ago, the Czech Republic helped through a delivery of fuel, but without weapons, we cannot defend our country,” he added.
At the end of the meeting, the Pilsen Region’s leaders noted that this financial aid is not the last aid to come – that the region is prepared to help in the future as well if the embassy requests aid again.