Czechia skips Poland military exercise as Okamura, Pavel clash

Czechia has not sent troops to the international “Koalicja 26.2.” exercise in Poland, even though, according to Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD), it received an invitation. The decision has drawn criticism from President Petr Pavel and Sen. Karel Řehka.

The exercise runs from Nov. 9 to 22. It is led by France and the United Kingdom, and Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are also taking part. Its aim is to prepare for the end of the war in Ukraine, when European armies are expected to provide security and help rebuild the country.

What the government says

Okamura said Czechia received a verbal invitation: it was told it was welcome and could take part. According to him, the Czechs were invited at least twice. But the Defense Ministry did not include sending troops in its plans and, Okamura stressed, was right not to: Czechia will not take part in military actions in support of Ukraine.

Because this is an exercise and not an operation, government approval is not required. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), speaking before his flight to Dublin on Wednesday, said the cabinet had not discussed the matter, that it is up to the defense minister, and that the minister had not even told the government whether the exercise was taking place. Apparently, the decision was made by Zůna's ministry itself. It had not responded to the editors' questions by the time of publication. According to sources in the army leadership, the soldiers wanted to take part.

Criticism of the decision

President Pavel called the decision unfortunate: the exercise concerns the situation after the conflict ends, that is, security guarantees for the countries of the region and for Ukraine, and in his view Czechia should take part in such efforts.

Sen. Karel Řehka (STAN), a former chief of the general staff, believes the government's approach is already affecting relations with allies. He said Czechia is excluding itself, citing diplomats who reportedly now get fewer conversations and are not invited to some meetings. In his assessment, the current government does not treat the country's security and defense as a priority.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz