Poland’s Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that it detected an object in Polish airspace coming from the direction of Belarus
Post Date – 11:00 PM, Saturday – 5/13/23
Poland’s Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that it detected an object in Polish airspace coming from the direction of Belarus
Warsaw: Poland’s Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that it had detected an object in Polish airspace, possibly an observation balloon, flying from the direction of Belarus.
Radar contact with the object was lost near the central Polish town of Repin, 143 kilometers (89) northwest of the capital Warsaw, the ministry said on Twitter.
A search was launched near Repin involving a helicopter, a drone and ground troops of the Territorial Defense Force, Captain Evazlotnica, a press officer of the combat command of the armed forces, told television TVN24.
The object was spotted around 8:30 p.m. local time on Friday near Bialowieza, an area close to Poland’s border with Belarus. Zlotnicka said in a telephone interview with private television that radar monitoring was carried out, but at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, the object was no longer visible.
The developments reported on Saturday follow two other known incursions into Polish airspace following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, which lies on Poland’s eastern border.
In November, a missile landed in eastern Poland, killing two Polish men. Western officials say they believe a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile went astray as the Ukrainian air force tried to repel a massive Russian attack.
Polish military and political officials also faced the problem of another object, which landed on Polish territory in December but was only stumbled upon by a member of the public riding horses in a forest until April.
The issue has raised questions about the authorities’ handling of its air defenses amid new risks posed by the war in Ukraine.
President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki were only informed of the December airspace intrusion in late April.
The National Security Agency, which advises the president on security and defense matters, said Friday that its chief, Jacek Siewiera, and Duda were informed of the object on April 26, which it said was Object “probably Russian-made cruise missile” Officials said no traces of explosives were found at the site where the aerial object was found.
Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said this week that operational commanders of the armed forces were responsible for not properly notifying political leaders of the object. Army leaders have disputed that claim, insisting they did their job correctly.
Political opponents have been calling for Blaszczak to be fired over the matter.
