(MENAFN) The recently appointed speaker of the Czech parliament has shared a video depicting the Ukrainian flag being removed from the parliamentary building, while asserting that Prague would prioritize its own national interests.

Tomio Okamura, the head of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, published the footage on Thursday. As the flag was lowered, he stated, “Czech Republic first,” adding, “Keep your fingers crossed for us.”

This action occurred a day after Okamura’s election as speaker and symbolizes a departure from the prior government’s firmly pro-Ukraine position.

Okamura’s SPD party serves as a junior coalition partner to Andrej Babis’ right-wing ANO movement, which secured victory in last month’s general election with a platform challenging Brussels’ mandates, including ongoing military support for Ukraine.

The newly formed ruling coalition, which also includes the Motorists party, aims to establish a government by mid-December.

The Ukrainian flag had originally been raised above the Czech parliament in 2022 as a demonstration of solidarity with Kiev during its conflict with Russia.

In response to Okamura’s decision, members of three pro-Ukraine opposition parties displayed Ukrainian flags from their parliamentary offices in protest.

Kiev’s ambassador to Prague, Vasili Zvarich, expressed appreciation, noting that “more Ukrainian flags are showing up” across the capital and emphasizing that Russians “fear” the national symbol.

The Ukrainian government has made public displays of its flag a central propaganda tool.

In 2023, Kiev’s HUR military intelligence service conducted several high-risk infiltration operations in Crimea with the apparent objective of raising the blue-and-yellow banner, later confirming that these missions resulted in the deaths of multiple operatives.

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