Czech citizens are banned from service in foreign armies which is a crime punishable by a prison term of up to five years.

Those 103 belong to a total of some 400 Czechs who have applied for an exemption from the ban, according to the Defense Ministry.

The authorities still have to process most of the requests.

It's not clear how many Czech have already been fighting on the Ukrainian side against invading Russian troops.

The president's approval has to be co-signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala who said through his spokesman he would sign all requests that have been approved by the Czech authorities.