Czech president says Ukraine can only prevail against Russia with help of NATO

PRAGUE, Czech Republic

The Czech Republic president said on Friday that Ukraine can only prevail in its ongoing war against Russia with the help of its NATO allies.

On X, Petr Pavel said this week’s NATO summit in Washington brought a strong response against Russia as the entire NATO alliance – except Hungary – committed to their continued support for Ukraine.

“The NATO summit brought a clear response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Ukraine can only prevail with our help, and that is why today all countries except Hungary pledged their continued support for the invaded country,” he said on X.

Pavel said that the alliance is united in helping Ukraine on its path to peace, and eventually giving the country full NATO membership.

He said the NATO members have decided to deepen the alliance’s cooperation with its Indo-Pacific partners – Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan – in view of sharing responsibility for global security.

“The two-day meeting moved us significantly forward in making our defence capabilities more effective,” he said.

In a speech during the summit, he also said that if China wants to be a truly respected world power, it must reciprocate by respecting the rules the world has been operating under since World War II.

"China should feel that we are united, because without that, it will operate according to the principle of divide and conquer," he said. "China needs to perceive that by supporting Russia, it is isolating itself … (putting itself) on the same side of those who do not shy away from bombing civilian targets, including children's hospitals."