MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command reported the downing of several drones violating the country’s airspace.
TASS has gathered the key information on the incident.
Drones detected, destroyed
- On the morning of September 10, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command reported that several objects identified as drones had been destroyed after entering Poland’s airspace.
- According to the report, the objects, identified as unmanned aerial vehicles, violated Poland’s air border last night, when an air raid warning was in effect in Ukraine.
- A search is currently underway for their debris.
- The incident prompted the authorities to close airspace over certain parts of the country, including Warsaw Chopin Airport.
- Police in Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship reported that one of the drones shot down by the Polish military had been found in a village located 30 kilometers from the Belarusian border.
- The debris of another drone was found in a village cemetery in southeastern Poland, 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the District Prosecutor's Office in the city of Zamosc said.
- Poland shot down three out of the 19 drones that entered its airspace, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
- According to him, violations of Poland’s air borders persisted throughout the night, from 11:30 p.m. local time on September 9 to 6:30 a.m. local time on September 10 (9:30 p.m. - 4:30 a.m. GMT)
Consequences
- Polish energy facilities were not damaged during the drone incursion into the country and the subsequent operation to eliminate them, Energy Minister Milosz Motyka said.
- The roof of a residential building was damaged in the settlement of Wyryki near the border with Ukraine and Belarus during an attempt to eliminate a drone entering Polish airspace. There were no casualties, local officials told the Polsat TV channel.
Polish authorities’ reaction
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk slammed the drone incident as "a major provocation."
- He claims that this is the first time when "Russian drones have been downed over a NATO country," although no official information has been provided yet on the origin of the drones whose debris were found in Poland.
- According to Tusk, all drones that posed a threat were shot down and the situation is under control.
- The incident caused no casualties, the Polish prime minister added.
- Tusk notified NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that several drones violating the country’s airspace had been destroyed the night before.
- The Polish premier called an emergency cabinet meeting over the incident.
- In addition, Polish President Karol Nawrocki will hold an urgent meeting of the National Security Council, which will involve the prime minister.
- The Polish authorities have discussed the possibility of invoking Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which concerns consultations with allies, Nawrocki said.
- Head of the National Security Bureau Slawomir Cenckiewicz, in turn, pointed out that implementing the proposal to trigger Article 4 of the NATO Treaty primarily depended "on the Polish premier and NATO allies."
- Poland asked NATO to apply Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty over drones violating the country's airspace, Tusk stated.
- The prime minister stressed that the decision "on applying Article 4" had been made together with Nawrocki.
- Warsaw will ask NATO allies to increase support for its air and air defense forces on the eastern border during consultations provided for by Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, Tusk added.
Reaction from EU, NATO
- Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described the drone incursion into Poland’s airspace as a deliberate action.
- The North Atlantic Alliance is not treating the drone incursion into Polish territory as an attack, Reuters reported, citing sources.
- According to a source, it was the first time NATO aircraft have engaged potential threats.
- NATO's Patriot air defense systems in the region detected the drones with their radars but did not engage them, the source added.
- Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refueling aircraft jointly operated by NATO were involved in the operation, the source noted.
- NATO Spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed that air defenses had been activated in Poland to counter unmanned aerial vehicles.
- However, she did not say which country the drones belonged to.
Belarus’ statements
- Belarusian air defenses tracked unmanned aerial vehicles entering the country’s airspace last night and shot some of them down, said Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the Belarusian General Staff.
- He pointed out that Belarus had notified Poland and Lithuania of approaching unidentified aerial vehicles.
- According to Muraveiko, Poland also notified Belarus of unidentified aerial vehicles approaching from Ukraine.