Column: Russia is waging a hybrid war against Czechia and Europe

A column by an author in a Czech outlet delivers a stark warning: Russia is already waging a war against Europe, a hot one beyond Czechia’s borders and a hybrid one inside the country itself. This is the author’s opinion, not an official position.

The author recalls a conversation with readers in Jablonec in March 2016, where he said that Russia was at war with Czechia and that the war would only escalate. At the time, he says, this sounded like nonsense to 99 percent of the population, and the pensioners in the room were outraged to the point that they nearly fell off their chairs. Today, he believes, it is already reality, although far from most people see it.

In the author’s view, if Ukraine falls, Russia will go further west, as part of the Kremlin’s plans to restore the former Soviet zone of influence in Europe. A hybrid war, he writes, is going on daily in every European country, and in Czechia, by his assessment, it peaked at a recent meeting of Russia’s supporters in the Chamber of Deputies building. The Kremlin’s goals, the author adds, are openly discussed on state television programmes: a military invasion and a cheaper route, bringing to power in Western countries politicians who are friendly to Russia and who stop aid to Ukraine.

The author sees the result of the current Czech governing coalition’s work as a weakening of the country’s defence capability. His conclusion: a voter who casts a ballot for this party lineup is like a frog willing to be boiled for a doughnut and a sausage.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz