Chief of Czech General Staff Skips Kyiv Security Conference — Zůna Cites Heavy Workload

General Karel Řehka's successor as Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, General Karel Havlíček, will not attend the security conference in Kyiv — a trip that, for the first time in his role, he had planned to make to Ukraine this week. Czech Defence Minister Jan Zůna explained the decision, saying it was more important right now to focus on urgent domestic tasks.

According to army spokeswoman Gabriela Kuglerová, Havlíček's participation in the Kyiv conference had initially been discussed as part of the standard coordination process for foreign work trips with the leadership of the Ministry of Defence. Zůna clarified that a large delegation from the General Staff, including generals and senior officials, had been planning to travel to Ukraine.

What Took Priority Over the Conference

"We discussed this with General Havlíček last Saturday and agreed that we're currently in a very important period. A difficult debate over preparing the 2027 budget is wrapping up, the army still needs to finalize its development concept, and preparations are underway for NATO Days and Chamber of Deputies committee meetings," the minister said.

He noted that the timing of the Kyiv conference coincided with a period when efforts needed to be concentrated on pressing matters at home in Czechia. "We concluded it made more sense to focus on these tasks, since it's possible to join such a conference via video link or other means," Zůna said.

Approval Never Came

The weekly Respekt reported over the weekend that Havlíček's trip required approval from the minister or his deputy, but neither Zůna nor his deputy Radovan Vích (SPD) commented on the matter until the very last moment — effectively making the trip to the security conference impossible.

Zůna insists that the absence of General Staff representatives from the Kyiv conference does not run counter to Czechia's security interests. "There is plenty of negotiation, communication and cooperation happening at the working, technical level, and it continues. This was specifically about this particular trip at this particular time," the minister stressed, adding that the Ministry of Defence maintains contact with the Ukrainian side.

Asked whether he would approve a future trip by General Havlíček to Ukraine, Zůna said: "If such an opportunity and such a need arise, no one will object."

The previous Chief of the General Staff, Karel Řehka, visited Ukraine on multiple occasions. Zůna himself said shortly after taking office in December 2025 that he had received an invitation to visit Ukraine and that a trip was being planned. Later, however, SPD party leader Tomio Okamura claimed that Zůna had never actually accepted the invitation.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz