News Department / BBC News Ukraine
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Prague on Sunday to support President Petr Pavel in his latest confrontation with the anti-Ukrainian government of Andrej Babiš.
The catalyst was Pavel’s refusal to appoint a controversial candidate as Minister of the Environment. This was followed by messages from the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry, which the president called an attempt at blackmail.
The president and the government are also disputing over the supply of aircraft to Ukraine.
According to organizers, about 80-90 thousand people gathered in Prague to support the president, reports CTK.
The agency notes that demonstrators filled the Old Town Square and part of Wenceslas Square. Some also publicly supported Ukraine and expressed disagreement with the coalition government policies of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
“I thank everyone who came to Prague from different parts of the country to express their opinion and support a dignified Czech Republic”, – wrote Petr Pavel on social media X following the demonstration.
The Essence of the Conflict
As a result of parliamentary elections in October 2025, the Czech government was headed by euro-skeptic and opponent of supplying weapons to Ukraine, Andrej Babiš.
The coalition, along with his ANO parties, also included SPD (“Freedom and Direct Democracy”) and “Automobilists”.
The “Automobilists” received, among other things, the positions of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Environment.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by the party leader Petr Macinka. He also temporarily serves as Minister of Environment since Petr Pavel refuses to approve candidate Filip Turek, who was nominated by the “Automobilists”. The rest of the ministers took office on December 15, 2025.
Filip Turek entered politics after the coronavirus pandemic, and in 2024 he was elected to the European Parliament.
At that time, photos of Turek with Nazi symbols appeared on the internet, and some of his statements were criticized as endorsing Adolf Hitler.
Turek denied the allegations of sympathizing with Nazism, stating he is a collector, and he even has a knife used by SS soldiers.
After media reports, Czech police launched an investigation into a photo where Turek was making a gesture resembling a Nazi salute. However, the case was soon closed due to the statute of limitations (the photo was taken in 2013).
Turek is also under investigation for domestic violence and rape. His former girlfriend claimed that he subjected her to physical and psychological abuse for several years 15-20 years ago. Turek denied these allegations.
In view of Turek’s reputation, Pavel refused to approve him as a minister.
“Individuals holding ministerial positions must meet heightened loyalty requirements to constitutional values <…> Through his public speeches, statements, and behavior, Filip Turek convinces a significant part of the public that he downplays the culpability of one of the worst totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, Nazi Germany, which is responsible for the genocide of millions of innocent people,” – explained Pavel’s spokesperson regarding the president’s position.
The President Says He Is Being Blackmailed
The conflict between the president and the government escalated on Tuesday, January 27. Pavel at an emergency press conference spoke about messages that the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of “Avtomobilistiv” Petro Matsynka conveyed to him through the president’s advisor.
Pavel recognized the messages (he later published screenshots in the social network X) as an attempt at blackmail.
In the messages, Matsynka writes that he, like the president, is facing an “irrevocable decision,” and Pavel “won’t be able to sleep peacefully” if he does not approve Turek for the ministerial position.
“If he doesn’t do it, I’ll burn all the bridges,” Matsynka continued.
“I understand that the president cannot be blackmailed, but politics is about compromises,” he added.
Pavel stated that he handed the messages from the Minister of Foreign Affairs over to lawyers for evaluation.
Matsynka does not deny the authenticity of the messages, but considers them a form of political negotiation process, not a threat.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated that the minister misspoke, but his words should not be considered blackmail.
On Tuesday, February 3, the Czech Parliament will hold a vote of no confidence in the government, initiated by opposition parties amid the message scandal.
Scandal Over Weapons to Ukraine
The conflict over Turek’s appointment is not the only disagreement between the president and the government. Another topic is the supply of weapons to Ukraine, including four L-159 aircraft.
During a visit to Kyiv on January 16, Pavel proposed that Ukraine purchase several aircraft.
Babiš in response stated that the government would not approve this. In his election campaign, among other things, Babiš talked about how the Czech Republic should stop providing weapons to Kyiv.
In the messages published by Pavel, Matsynka claims that the only reason Ukraine won’t receive the L-159 is that the president thoughtlessly disclosed plans to journalists.
This was preceded by a diplomatic scandal between Ukraine and the Czech Republic at the beginning of January, triggered by an anti-Ukrainian New Year’s speech by the speaker of the lower house of the Czech parliament, Tomio Okamura.
Okamura, who is the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic and the leader of the right-populist SPD party, a part of Babiš’s government coalition, spoke against assistance to Ukraine and harshly criticized the Ukrainian leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to him, the power in Ukraine is held by “thieves” and the “Zelensky junta,” who profit from the war, and such a country has no place in the EU.
Okamura also accused Western countries that support Ukraine with arms of moving towards World War III.
The offensive statements were then addressed by the Ukrainian ambassador to the Czech Republic and the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Andriy Sybiha, who called on Czech colleagues for constructive dialogue.
In the image: Rally in Prague on 02/01/2026. According to the organizers, 80-90 thousand people came to support Pavel. Photo: Jan Salač, MAFRA
