Digest of news from Slovakia, Czechia, and Poland, May 25 - 31, 2026
Slovakia
1) Slovak FM Blanar condemns Russian drone strike that endangered civilians in NATO member Romania
2) PM Fico fulfills his promise to Putin: Red Army cemetery renovated with Russian co-financing
Analysis:
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar issued a statement condemning Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure in the Romanian city of Galați. On the night of 28–29 May, a Russian Shahed-type drone struck a ten-story residential building there, injuring two people. Bratislava expressed solidarity with Bucharest, condemned any violation of a NATO member state's airspace, and declared its readiness to support measures strengthening defense capabilities on the Alliance's eastern flank. The statement was notable given the Fico government's habitual restraint on matters involving direct criticism of Russia.
Days earlier, Prime Minister Robert Fico reopened a renovated Red Army cemetery in the eastern Slovak town of Michalovce, fulfilling a personal commitment he had made to Vladimir Putin during his 9 May visit to Moscow. Fico was the only EU leader to attend Russia's Victory Day celebrations this year. The site holds the remains of more than 17,000 Soviet soldiers, making it the largest such cemetery in the country. Fico confirmed that the renovation was co-financed by the Russian Embassy in Bratislava, and used the occasion to reaffirm Slovakia's commitment to maintaining other Soviet-era military graves across the country.
Blanar's condemnation of the Galați strike reflects Slovakia's formal obligations as a NATO member, while Fico's Russian-funded ceremony, carried out in fulfillment of a personal promise to Putin, operates in a register that sits uneasily alongside Alliance solidarity. The divergence between Bratislava's public statements and its government's symbolic politics continues to define Slovakia's awkward position within the Western alliance.
Czech Republic
1) Czech authorities release ROC Metropolitan Hilarion after drug-related detention; investigation continues
2) The number of countries financing the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine has halved since PM Babiš returned to office
3) President Pavel calls on NATO allies to go beyond condemnation after a Russian drone strikes Romanian soil
Analysis:
Czech law enforcement detained Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Hilarion on 24 May after police found four small containers of a white substance in his vehicle. Two days later, he and his driver were released without charges and without procedural restrictions such as bail or a travel ban. Czech authorities confirmed that forensic analysis had established the substance as prohibited and stated that the investigation would continue. Hilarion denied any involvement in the transport of controlled substances, and his legal team argued that the mere presence of the substance does not resolve the question of how it came to be in the car. Russia's Foreign Ministry characterized the detention as a deliberate provocation and demanded his immediate release.
President Petr Pavel disclosed in an interview with the Financial Times that the number of countries contributing financially to the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine has dropped from 18 to just 9 since Prime Minister Andrej Babiš returned to office last December. The initiative was launched by the previous pro-European government and had at its peak supplied up to 50% of all large-caliber ammunition reaching Ukrainian forces. Pavel described that contribution as effectively irreplaceable and called for the initiative's future to be placed on the agenda at the July NATO summit in Ankara. Babiš stated publicly that his government's priority is directing public funds toward Czech households struggling with energy costs rather than toward supporting Ukraine. A senior Western military official observed that some partner countries now find it difficult to justify continued funding for an initiative that lacks support from the leadership of the country that created it.
When a Russian Shahed drone struck a residential building in Galați on 29 May, President Pavel was among the first Central European leaders to respond publicly. He called the incident unprecedented and entirely unacceptable, backed Romania's appeal for a firm and coordinated international reaction, and explicitly stated that the Alliance should not limit itself to issuing statements of condemnation. Prime Minister Babiš also condemned the attack. Unlike the weeks-long institutional standoff between the two over the Ankara summit delegation, the Galați incident produced a rare moment of rhetorical alignment between the Czech president and prime minister.
A country that was once among Europe's most consistent advocates for Ukraine is becoming less reliable on that front. The ammunition initiative is losing international buy-in precisely because the Babiš government has distanced itself from it. Simultaneously, the Hilarion case adds further strain to Czech-Russian relations, generating an immediate diplomatic reaction from Moscow regardless of its eventual legal outcome. Pavel's continued advocacy within NATO provides some counterweight, but his institutional leverage at home remains limited.
Poland
1) A Kraków referendum removes the city's mayor from office, dealing a blow to Tusk's coalition and emboldening the opposition ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections
2) PM Tusk urges NATO and EU partners to take Russian threats seriously following Medvedev's warnings after the Galați drone incident
Analysis:
On 24 May, residents of Kraków voted in a local referendum to remove Mayor Aleksander Miszalski from office. More than 97% of participants supported his early dismissal. The result was narrowly valid, with turnout reaching 29.99% against a required threshold of 26.98%. Miszalski is a member of Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, and his removal was quickly framed by the opposition as a political signal of national significance. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński declared the vote only the beginning, while right-wing media began calling Miszalski "the Kraków Tusk," presenting the outcome as a rehearsal for the 2027 parliamentary elections. Tusk's government responded by appointing a commissioner from the same party to govern the city until early elections, which must be held within 90 days. Analysts note that the referendum reflected genuine local grievances including rising municipal debt, controversial transport policies, and perceived cronyism, but its outcome has unambiguously entered the national political calculation. The day after the vote, activists in Rzeszów announced a similar initiative targeting that city's mayor, suggesting Kraków may not be an isolated case.
Prime Minister Tusk took to social media on 30 May to call on all NATO members to begin treating Russian statements and actions with the seriousness they deserve. His remarks were prompted by a threatening post from former Russian President and Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who warned EU citizens to expect further drone incidents following the Galați strike, writing that such events would continue for as long as the war does. Tusk cited the statement directly and called on allies to draw the appropriate conclusions. His position aligned with calls from Lithuania's Foreign Minister and with Romania's request to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, reinforcing Poland's consistent posture as one of the Alliance's most vocal advocates for firmer collective responses to Russian escalation.
In Poland, this week illustrated the distance between the country's external posture and its internal political dynamics. On the European security front, Tusk is projecting the image of a committed NATO ally who takes Russian aggression at its word and presses partners to do the same. At home, however, the Kraków referendum has introduced a new variable: the governing coalition's hold on Poland's major cities can no longer be assumed. External resolve and domestic vulnerability will both shape the Polish political landscape as the 2027 election cycle draws closer.