Poland scrambles jets over drone threat in Ukraine; Lublin airport closed
In a separate statement, the Polish military said the jets were deployed as a 'preventive' action, with an aim to secure the country's airspace and protect the "citizens, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened region".
The Polish military on Saturday deployed its aircraft to protect the country's airspace in view of a possible drone strike in neighbouring Ukraine, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Polish authorities have also closed the Lublin airport as a precautionary measure.
"Due to the threat posed by Russian drones operating over Ukraine near the border with Poland, preventive operations of aviation—Polish and allied—have begun in our airspace," Tusk said in a post on X. "Ground-based air defense systems have reached the highest state of readiness."
'Preventive measures'
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Polish military said the jets were deployed as a 'preventive' action, with an aim to secure the country's airspace and protect the "citizens, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened region".
"To ensure the safety of our airspace, the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces has activated all necessary procedures. Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," it said.
Poland shots down Russian drones
On Wednesday, Poland shot down multiple Russian drones that entered its territory, describing the incursion as an “act of aggression” carried out during a wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine. Though Russia said it did not target Poland, Warsaw said some of the drones came from Belarus, where Russian and Belarusian troops have begun gathering for war games.
Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but there has been nothing on this scale in Poland or in any other Western nation along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
A NATO spokesman said it was the first time the alliance had confronted a potential threat in its airspace. NATO met to discuss the incident, which came three days after Russia's largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began.
“Russia's war is escalating, not ending,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. “Last night in Poland, we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”
(With inputs from AP)
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