The situation in Europe is currently the most serious since the end of the Second World War, in particular because of Russia's hybrid actions.
This was stated by Michal Kudelka, head of the Information Security Service (BIS), the counterintelligence agency of the Czech Republic, at a joint briefing with the country's President Petar Pavel, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
"The current situation is the most serious since World War II. What Russian soldiers are doing in Ukraine, what Palestinian terrorists are doing in Israel, they would do in our country without mercy and compassion," Kudelka said.
According to him, "aggressive Russia is a great threat to European democracies, including the Czech Republic".
The brigadier general mentioned, among other things, disinformation campaigns, attempts to discredit the authorities and to turn the Czechs against Ukraine. Kudelka spoke in particular about fake videos, citing as an example the one that was circulated during the presidential election campaign in the Czech Republic - with the aim of discrediting the candidate Pavel. Experts have found evidence that the video was faked in Russia.
Peter Pavel, in turn, noted that "the current situation in the field of security cannot be called problem-free".
"And the future prospects are not optimistic at all. It can be assumed that things will get even more complicated," the president added.
Peter Pavel became the first president in 26 years to visit the counterintelligence headquarters. Vaclav Havel did this before him in 1998. Pavel Miloš Zeman's predecessor constantly criticized his counterintelligence and consistently refused to promote its chief, Ukrinform noted.