Czech news in brief for March 4: Tuesday's top headlines

Opposition ANO leader and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said Tuesday that diplomacy, not more weapons, is the key to ending the war in Ukraine. While condemning Russia as the aggressor, he urged European leaders to prioritize peace talks. His comments follow reports that U.S. President Donald Trump halted military aid to Ukraine. The European Commission is planning an EUR 800 billion (CZK 20 trillion) defense fund in response to the crisis.

Nearly 70 percent of Czechs support active participation in space missions, including sending a Czech astronaut to the International Space Station, a January Ipsos survey found. Many believe such missions inspire youth to pursue science and enhance the country’s global prestige. Fighter pilot Ales Svoboda is currently training as the Czech ESA astronaut. The initiative is part of the Czech Space Journey project, promoting science and industry.

Czech investigators have accused five people of evading value-added tax in a used mobile phone trade scheme, causing losses over CZK 335 million, officials said Tuesday. Two suspects were arrested in the Czech Republic and three in Latvia, where extradition is sought. Authorities say the group abused a special tax regime by falsely claiming phones came from the EU. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office coordinated last week's crackdown.

The Czech Republic experienced an exceptionally warm and dry winter, with an average temperature of 0.1 degrees Celsius from December to February, making it the 15th warmest since the 1960s, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported Tuesday. Precipitation was the fifth lowest on record, with only 79 millimeters falling—62 percent of the 1991-2020 average. Meteorologists noted a trend of increasingly warm winters in recent years.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Tuesday urged Europe to strengthen its military and economic defenses following reports that former U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a halt to military aid for Ukraine. Fiala warned that Europe can no longer rely on others for security and must take decisive action. He also called for increased defense spending, aiming for at least 3 percent of GDP. He plans to present a defense budget proposal soon. 

Donations to Ukraine have surged in Czechia following a dispute between U.S. and Ukrainian presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A campaign for a Black Hawk helicopter raised over CZK 70 million in a day. Humanitarian groups report similar spikes, with Caritas seeing donations quintuple. Volunteers continue efforts, from medical aid to making trench candles. Czechs have donated nearly seven billion crowns since 2022.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about transatlantic cooperation and achieving lasting peace in Ukraine on Monday. The U.S. State Department said Rubio emphasized President Trump’s commitment to ending the war. The call follows a tense Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, with Rubio later accusing the Ukrainian leader of obstructing peace talks with Russia in an ABC interview.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to block Thursday’s EU summit on aid to Ukraine unless the bloc urges Kyiv to resume Russian gas transit. Fico, who opposes military aid to Ukraine, said a compromise was possible. Hungary’s Viktor Orban has also signaled opposition. Ukraine halted transit earlier this year, citing war-related concerns, while now importing gas from Slovakia.

The largest trade union at Prague Services (PSAS) has declared a strike alert, citing Deputy Mayor Jana Komrsková’s (Pirates) “hostile attitude” toward the municipal waste company and its employees, union leader Miloslav Jukl said Sunday. The dispute centers on Komrsková’s repeated attempts to remove PSAS director Patrik Roman. The company, employing nearly 2,000 people, handles waste collection and road maintenance in Prague.

This winter in Prague’s Klementinum ranked among the warmest since 1775, with an average temperature of 2.8°C, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported. February, however, was the coldest since 2018 and the fourth driest since 1961. Nationwide, precipitation levels were just 30 percent of normal. Experts warn that ongoing dry conditions could worsen drought risks, especially in eastern Czechia, as warmer-than-average temperatures persist into spring.

The international Sounds of Diversity project will connect four cities through music, dance, and light. Concerts will take place in Ostrava and Katowice in March, followed by Zilina and Budapest in autumn. The project, led by Martin Modry and Szymon Bywalec, will feature world premieres of four works, combining contemporary classical music with dance and light design.