Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy awarded Czech President Petr Pavel the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of the highest degree for his personal contribution to cooperation and advocacy for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, following their talks in Kyiv today.
Czech President Petr Pavel continued the second day of his visit to Ukraine by meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior officials.
He also saw a house destroyed by a Russian missile on Vaclav Havel Boulevard in Kyiv, which bears the name of the first Czechoslovak and Czech post-communist president.
Pavel said he and Zelenskiy had discussed the status of peace negotiations, the continuation of the Czech ammunition initiative, and the Czech Republic’s development and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Later today, the Czech president met Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
“We talked about how the peace talks and the preparation of documents are progressing, how Ukraine’s plans and interests are being aligned with those of the United States and European allies,” said Pavel of his conversation with Zelenskiy.
The Czech president spoke to reporters in front of the ruins of a building on Vaclav Havel Boulevard, which was hit by a Russian Kh-101 guided missile in August, killing 23 people.
Pavel described the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which in recent days had left hundreds of thousands of people across Ukraine without electricity and heat in severe frosts, as barbaric.
Pavel arrived in Kyiv by train this morning, after beginning his trip in Lviv on Thursday. He was welcomed at the station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise may be awarded to citizens of Ukraine and foreign nationals for outstanding service to the Ukrainian state and nation. It has been awarded by the president of Ukraine since 1995.
The Czech president started his visit in Lviv in western Ukraine on Thursday, where he had a working lunch with Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, and Minister for Veterans Affairs Natalia Kalmykova. He also discussed mutual defense assistance with Deputy Foreign Minister Olexandr Mischenko.
Accompanied by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi and other officials, Pavel also attended a memorial ceremony at the Lychakiv Cemetery, where he paid tribute to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers, and visited a hospital renovated with Czech help in nearby Vynnyky. This medical facility also includes the Superhumans center for prosthetics and rehabilitation, where Ukrainian war veterans receive treatment.
Speaking in Lviv yesterday, Pavel said that the Ukrainian side had expressed its firm gratitude for the decision of the new Czech government of Andrej Babis to continue the ammunition initiative, which is crucial for the Ukrainian army.
This is Pavel’s third trip to Ukraine as head of state. In April 2023, he visited Dnipro in eastern Ukraine as well as Kyiv, and in March 2025, he travelled from Moldova to Odessa in southern Ukraine, from where he continued to the Ukrainian capital. In both cases, he held talks with President Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian senior officials.
The main theme of the current trip is to express support for Ukraine, which has been fighting off a large-scale Russian invasion for almost four years. The Czech president also wants to highlight the humanitarian aspect of the war and the need to reconstruct the country.
Lviv was targeted by a Russian drone attack last night. A children’s playground near the monument to the Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera was damaged, but no one was injured, Mayor Sadovyi said. According to Ukrainian sources, explosions were also heard in Kyiv this morning, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that air defenses were shooting down Russian drones.
Pavel arrived in Ukraine less than a week after a visit from Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who confirmed to his Ukrainian counterpart Sybiha that the Czech ammunition initiative would continue under the new government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO). The government initially questioned the continuation of the scheme, and takes a more cautious stance on supporting Ukraine than the previous cabinet of Petr Fiala (ODS).
