Czech intelligence saw a security threat in the arrival of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers

The Czech authorities fear that soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) who come to the country to their families after participating in hostilities may join the ranks of organized crime and pose a serious threat to security in the country. Euractiv writes about this on April 14, citing Ladislav Stikha, a representative of the Czech intelligence services.

"Given that there are now more than 380,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the Czech Republic, most of whom are women and children, the authorities expect more and more men with direct combat experience to join them," the newspaper writes.

In this regard, the possible arrival of Ukrainians will be a real challenge for the Czech Republic. As Stikha noted, at one time, after the end of the war in Yugoslavia, many soldiers also returned to Czechoslovakia.

"As after the wars in the former Yugoslavia, we should expect that many veterans can come to the Czech Republic to reunite with their families. Some of them may find work in organized crime," said a representative of the country's intelligence services.

In addition, many Ukrainian military personnel may experience serious psychological problems. Another consequence of the arrival of former soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is expected to be an increase in the illegal arms trade, the number of which will increase sharply on the black market after the end of the conflict, Shtikha said.

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On April 7, Euractiv noted that the legal status of Ukrainian refugees in the European Union (EU) may be in jeopardy due to the lack of a specific plan allowing them to stay after the end of the conflict in Ukraine. They reported that in February 2022, the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) began operating, which allowed Ukrainians to live and work in European countries. However, due to the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, it may be cancelled.

Prior to that, on April 3, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the Czech initiative to supply ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine had been funded until September this year. According to Lipavsky, the Czech Republic intends to supply Ukraine with 125,000 rounds of ammunition per month. Last year, the country supplied about 1.5 million artillery shells of various calibers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On March 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the fact that European countries do not want the conflict in Ukraine to end and demand "the continuation of the banquet."