A far-right party in the Czech Republic has launched a campaign to strip President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Lion, the country’s highest state award, in a move that risks undermining Prague’s strategic partnership with Kyiv.
The initiative, led by lawmaker Jindřich Rajchl of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, is scheduled for debate in the Chamber of Deputies. Rajchl cited disagreement with Ukraine’s decision to name military units after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as the reason for his proposal.
Zelensky received the Order of the White Lion in October 2022 from then-President Miloš Zeman, who cited the Ukrainian leader’s “courage and bravery in refusing the American offer of safe haven and remaining in the then-war-torn Kyiv” after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The SPD’s effort follows a similar controversy in Poland, where President Karol Nawrocki recently moved to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle.
Czech opposition politicians sharply criticized the proposal. Benjamin Činčila, a lawmaker from the Christian Democratic Union (KDU-ČSL), expressed hope that representatives of the Motorists party and the ANO movement would not support it. “I consider this truly cowardly disgraceful, but it certainly fits the style of SPD’s work,” said another KDU-ČSL lawmaker, Václav Plateník.
Vít Rakušan, chairman of the STAN movement, said the SPD’s actions amount to “flag-lowering and award-stripping, all under hateful, generalizing rhetoric.” He added that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš brought the party back to power after years of deserved political ostracism.
A spokesperson for the office of President Petr Pavel, Markéta Řeháková, stated that the attempt is legally impossible. “A state award conferred by the president of the republic can only be revoked on the basis of a final court decision that imposes a punishment of deprivation of honorary titles and distinctions,” she said. Under Czech law, such a punishment can only be imposed for a conviction of at least two years in prison for an intentional crime committed with a particularly reprehensible motive.
The SPD has consistently blocked aid to Ukraine, demanded an immediate halt to arms supplies and funding for Kyiv. Party leader Tomio Okamura has regularly echoed Kremlin propaganda narratives and lobbied for restrictions on Ukrainian refugees’ rights.
The campaign also threatens tangible economic benefits for the Czech Republic. Over the past four years, contracts for supplying, repairing and maintaining equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces have driven growth in the Czech defense industry. Companies such as Tatra Defence, Excalibur Army and Czechoslovak Group rely on continued cooperation with Ukraine for exports, job creation and tax revenue.
Deputy chairman of TOP 09, Marek Ženíšek, directly pointed to a Russian connection, stating that the rhetoric of Czech ultra-rightists “relays narratives coming from Moscow.”
The presidential office’s clear legal statement appears to have rendered the initiative politically symbolic but without practical effect under current law, as reported by Czech news agency ČTK.
