Poland recently summoned the Russian charge d’affaires to demand an explanation for the violation of its airspace by a missile and to request an immediate halt to such activities. In a statement on Friday, Poland’s foreign ministry expressed concern over a Russian missile that had entered its airspace, reportedly leaving Poland’s territory after less than three minutes.
According to the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, this violation occurred on Friday morning. Ukrainian authorities had reported a mass attack on various cities throughout Ukraine overnight. Poland identified the intruder as a Russian guided missile and confirmed that air defense systems were on alert.
In response, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Warsaw, Andrei Ordash, questioned the lack of proof provided by Poland regarding the border violation. Similarly, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command confirmed that F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled from bases in Poland as a response to the activity of long-range Russian aircraft earlier that day.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski, warned that the country would react swiftly if a similar incident were to repeat. He stated that a stronger reaction would be met with greater attempts to defend the country’s airspace against threats from outside.
These remarks were made in the context of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as the Ukrainian military reported that Russia attacked Ukraine with 158 drones and missiles overnight.
In November 2022, a stray Ukrainian missile struck the Polish village of Przewodow, and fear had mounted of a wider spillover from the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, Poland had previously found a military object in a forest close to the village of Zamosc.
On the day of the airspace violation, private broadcaster TV Republika reported that a search for an unknown object had commenced near the town of Hrubieszow in southern Poland. Statements made by General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of the Polish armed forces, confirmed that the missile had flown 40 kilometers (25 miles) into Poland and that no immediate action was taken against it.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also met with army and security services chiefs to discuss the incident.