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Poland accidentally invaded the Czech Republic last month
The Polish army mistakenly crossed the country’s border with the Czech Republic in late May before leaving there, the Czech foreign ministry told CNN.
The snafu led the Czech embassy in Warsaw to take “immediate action” and notified its Polish counterpart, the Czech government told CNN, adding that Poland had still not officially explained why the country had wrongly annexed its neighbors.
“Our colleagues in Poland informally assure us that this incident is just a misunderstanding caused by the Polish military without hostile intentions, however, we still expect an official statement,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman told CNN.
“Polish soldiers are no longer present and our citizens can return to the site freely,” the spokesman added.
“We are still waiting for Poland’s official statement,” they repeated when asked how long Polish forces had been in the country.
The Polish Ministry of Defense also acknowledged a brief occupation on Friday.
“The placement of border posts is the result of misunderstanding, not deliberate action. It was immediately corrected and the case was resolved – also by the Czechs,” he told CNN in a statement.
The incident took place near Pielgrzymow, a small border village in southern Poland, located across a stretch of sparsely populated Czech countryside. The lonely road there serves as a boundary point between the two countries.
“The Polish army supports the Border Guard in protecting the country’s borders after its closure due to a coronavirus pandemic,” the Polish Ministry of Defense explained. “This operation is led by the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, which is in direct contact with the Border Guard.”
The Polish government did not confirm how long the army was present in the Czech Republic.
Borders between EU countries are often almost invisible because citizens enjoy freedom of movement throughout the bloc.
Poland was involved in several more serious border conflicts with the former Czechoslovakia during the 20th century. The two countries fought for seven days in the Silesia region in 1919, and Poland annexed the area around the city of Bohumin in 1938.
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