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Fuel prices are continuing to rise and have already reached historic highs in the Czech Republic. The government has therefore decided to abolish the mandatory blending of bio-components into fuels and also to abolish the road tax on vehicles weighing up to 12 tonnes. But is it enough? And how will inflation impact the country’s industry and its citizens? I put these questions to Jan Vejmělek, chief economist at Komerční banka.

Since the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine close to two million people have fled the country. Close to 200,000 refugees, mainly old people, women and children, have found their way to the Czech Republic –on their own, with the help of volunteers or by getting on one of the humanitarian trains that the Czech government has been sending out to the Slovak and Polish borders daily. Our contributor Martina Kroa enlisted as a volunteer at Prague’s Main Railway Station to experience the humanitarian aid effort first hand.

The Czech government has just rubberstamped a raft of measures aimed at helping the thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in the country. At the same time, the country’s leaders have called for continued solidarity with the new arrivals – and unity in the face of Russian aggression.

Czech volunteers assisting Ukrainian refugees crossing at the Slovak border town of Ubľa are calling for more interpreters to bolster their numbers. Interpreters are needed for organising further transport of the refugees to the Czech Republic and other Western countries.

Prime ministers from the EU’s Visegrad Four bloc, including the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala, met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. All parties agreed on a common approach to Russia’s aggression against its neighbour, as well as on the necessity to lower their countries’ energy dependence on Russia. Further sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime are also on the table.

Has Russia’s President Putin lost touch with reality? And how are things most likely to play out now, following the launch of his bestial war against Ukraine? I discussed those questions with a leading Czech expert on Russia, political geographer Michael Romancov. Our conversation also took in Czech issues, such as President Zeman’s abandoning of his previous support for Putin.

If you’re a parent of young children, you might have found yourself missing going to cultural events such as classical music concerts where children are usually not welcome. Well, fear no more – there is an organisation in Prague offering classical music concerts for parents with kids under three.

Things were already looking grim for the economy before Russia’s war on Ukraine, but now many Czechs are bracing themselves for massive price increases. Ahead of a government meeting Wednesday on helping citizens cope with rocketing energy costs, I discussed various issues with economist Danuše Nerudová.

Prague’s main centre for registering refugees was overwhelmed on Monday and forced to temporarily close its doors to further applicants for 24 hours. The closure has raised concern among those who waited for hours to register. The interior minister later explained that Prague was buckling under the strain, saying the pressure would have to be distributed more evenly among the country’s regional centres.

Schools around the Czech Republic are now scrambling to welcome thousands of Ukrainian newcomers, many of whom are still shell-shocked from the war in their home country and the often harrowing escape to safety. In an effort to help make them feel at home schools are engaging Ukrainian students and teachers already living in the Czech Republic who are able to reassure them by addressing them in their native language and teach them their first words of Czech.