A 27-year-old Czech citizen, Jirka Kotrla, who was previously considered missing in action, died on the front lines in Ukraine. According to media reports, the soldier died in the Izyum area of Kharkiv Oblast.
This was reported by the publications Idnes and iRozhlas.
Jirka Kotrla studied stone carving at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Uherský Hradiště, but dropped out in his third year in 2019. The school announced his death, emphasizing that Kotrla was a talented and detail-oriented student.
“I don’t always remember all my students right away, but I remember him very clearly. He was rather reserved and had his own circle of friends. When I found out that he was fighting in Ukraine, I was surprised at first, but then I remembered that he reacted strongly to injustice and always sought the truth,” added the deceased’s class teacher.
The works created by Kotrla during his studies will be given to his mother. The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case of a citizen who is considered missing, but did not disclose any details.
Kotrla became the fifth Czech citizen to die in the war in Ukraine. Previously, the deaths of Czechs were reported in 2022, 2023, 2024, and during the battles for Avdiivka.