Happening of the human rights organization Amnesty International on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and commemoration of war crimes committed against civilians, February 15, 2023, Prague.
Prague – Almost a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the majority of people in the Czech Republic remain on the side of the West, another third are not sure of their opinion. There was no significant increase in the number of pro-Russian thinkers. Aid to Ukrainian refugees before the war is approved by 60 percent of Czechs, i.e. slightly more than last summer. This follows from surveys conducted by the STEM agency in January, the results of which were provided to ČTK by the Czech interests in the EU project. According to more than half of Czechs, Czech membership in the union has a positive effect on the international security of the Czech Republic, according to a survey conducted at the height of the campaign before the presidential elections.
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Photo gallery: Russian invasion of Ukraine
28 percent of people have a pro-Western stance supporting activity in the conflict in Ukraine, i.e. at least the movement of NATO soldiers to the borders of Ukraine and Russia. 24 percent spoke pro-Western, supporting passivity, i.e. rejecting the activity of NATO soldiers. Another 34 percent of people were classified by the authors of the survey as uncertain, who primarily want a central position in the future. According to the survey, nine percent of people are misinformed, five percent are strongly pro-Russian. “There has been no significant increase in the number of people who think pro-Russian,” the authors of the survey said.
In a January survey, 60 percent of people in the Czech Republic saw the acceptance of refugees from Ukraine as correct. The share thus returned to the level from the end of last May, at the turn of August and September, 57 percent of people thought this way. The largest number of people supported the acceptance of Ukrainian refugees immediately after the beginning of the Russian aggression, 70 percent of Czechs said so at the beginning of last April.
Membership in the EU affects the international security of the Czech Republic positively according to 56 percent of people, negatively according to 30 percent. Fourteen percent answered that they could not assess the matter. “In response to the war, people are more aware of the security dimension of European cooperation. In their eyes, the Union thus partially returns to the original idea of its creation, i.e. to prevent wars on European soil,” said STEM director Martin Buchtík.
The public according to Buchtíka perceives the EU's response to Russian aggression as well-managed, as well as the joint purchase of vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. “Czech society is now the most skeptical about the European solution to the energy crisis. It remains to be seen who, in its eyes, will ultimately be the culprit of high prices,” he added.
In the survey between January 4 and 15, a representative answered sample of 1089 citizens of the Czech Republic over 18 years of age. The Czech interests in the EU project is jointly implemented by STEM, the Institute for European Policy Europeum and the Association for International Issues.
