MINSK, September 10. /TASS/. Belarus’ air defenses tracked the UAVs that strayed into its airspace last night with its electronic warfare means and some of them were shot down, the Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveiko has said.
"During the night-time mutual exchange of strikes with unmanned aerial vehicles between Russia and Ukraine, the air defense forces of the Republic of Belarus constantly tracked unmanned aerial vehicles that lost their course as a result of the impact of electronic warfare. Some of the lost drones were destroyed by the air defenses of our country over the national territory," the press service of the Belarussian Defense Ministry quotes Muraveiko as saying on a Telegram channel.
The Belarussian air defense forces on duty notified their colleagues in Poland and Lithuania about the approach of unknown aircraft to the territories of their countries.
"Through existing channels of interaction, from 11:00 p.m. (GMT+3) on September 9 to 04:00 a.m. (GMT+3) on September 10, our forces on duty exchanged information on the air and radar situation with the forces on duty in Poland and the Republic of Lithuania. We notified them of the approach of unknown aircraft to their territory," the Chief of the General Staff of Belarus said, adding that this allowed the Polish side to promptly respond to the drones by scrambling aircraft on duty.
For its part, Poland notified Belarus of the approach of unidentified aircraft from the territory of Ukraine last night, Muraveyko said.
"In fairness, it should be noted that the Polish side also informed the Belarusian combat units on duty about unidentified aircraft approaching the border of Belarus from the territory of Ukraine. The exchange of information on the air situation is an important component of ensuring security in the region as a whole and contributes to the establishment of confidence-building measures and strengthening security," the Chief of the General Staff of Belarus stated. Muraveiko noted that Belarus will continue to implement its obligations in the framework of the exchange of information on the air situation with Poland and the Baltic countries.
Early in the morning of September 10, the operational command of the Polish army announced the destruction of several objects identified as UAVs after violating the country's airspace. A search is currently underway for the downed objects. In connection with the incident, the airspace over part of the country was temporarily closed, including the area over Warsaw’s Chopin Airport. In connection with the incident, Poland asked NATO to use Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty to begin consultations among the bloc's member states.