Czech Republic updates warning for citizens to leave Russia

Reuters
Updated ·1 min read
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FILE PHOTO: A statue of former Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes is seen in front of the Czech Foreign Ministry headquarters before an extraordinary Visegrad Group summit in Prague

PRAGUE (Reuters) -The Czech Republic widened a warning for its citizens to leave Russia on Monday following Moscow's mobilisation orders last month, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Czech government had already warned against travel to Russia and urged citizens there to leave in February after the country's invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, the ministry expanded its warning, saying Czechs simultaneously holding Russian citizenship faced risks after a mobilisation call in September, a ministry spokeswoman said.

"Citizens of the Czech Republic who also hold Russian citizenship should bear in mind that if they are on the territory of the Russian Federation, they are perceived by Russian authorities primarily as citizens of the Russian Federation," the ministry said on its website.

"The Czech Embassy in Moscow cannot provide them with adequate, full consular protection."

The ministry also newly warned about the inability to use bank cards issued in the Czech Republic in Russia due to sanctions.

The Czech Republic has been one of Ukraine's biggest supporters, sending military aid to Kyiv, and it has also taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

The country stopped issuing visas for Russians, apart from for humanitarian issues, on Feb. 24, the day of the invasion, which Moscow has called a "special military operation".

(Reporting by Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka; editing by Philippa Fletcher)