Petr Fiala, the Czech Prime Minister, warned on Tuesday that Europe was one step away from war.
The prime minister slammed Russia's recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine as a "act of aggression against a legitimate state" in a speech to parliament in Prague.
The liberal-conservative politician comes out in support of EU sanctions against Russia, which are expected to have severe consequences.
He called the West's failure to respond aggressively enough following Russia's 2014 takeover of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea a mistake.
Anyone who believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to revive the Soviet Union will end with eastern Ukraine is naive, Fiala stressed.
He said the Czech Republic is ready to participate in a reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank, among other things with chemical weapons specialists.
“At the same time, the Czech Republic is preparing for possible crisis scenarios such as a loss of energy supplies from Russia or a wave of refugees from Ukraine,” he said.
(dpa/NAN)
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