Two Czech Deputies Visit Donetsk, Spark Outrage
On January 14th, two Deputies, Communists of the Czech Republic, Zdenek Ondracek and Stanislav Markovic travelled from Russian Federation territory to an area in Donetsk controlled by illegal armed groups.
The Foreign Ministry released a statement on Friday that expressed its vehement protest at the illegal entry of the two Czechs into the territory of Ukraine as they visited the temporarily occupied Donetsk region. The Foreign Ministry pointed out that this trip was not coordinated with Ukrainian authorities. Such actions violate Ukrainian legislation regulationson the procedure of entry into Ukraine.
The diplomats called on the Czech Government, the Parliamentand society to publicly dissociate from such provocations. The Foreign Ministry regarded these actions as disrespect towards the sovereignty of Ukraine and neglect of the official position of the Czech Republic and the European Union as condemning the aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
The news agency Interfax-Ukraine stated that the purpose of the three-day visit to the territory of DNR (the Donetsk People's Republic) is to gather information about the effects of hostilities, the humanitarian situation, and communication with civilians. Ondracek is a member of the Commission for the Supervision of the Czech Security Service. He was declared a persona non grata in Ukraine and denied entry. On December 15th, 2015 he attempted to enter Ukraine but was stopped at the Borispol airport and sent back.