Poland Steps Up Airspace Defence After Russian Provocations

Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has announced that Poland is strengthening the defence of its airspace amid what he described as increasingly frequent Russian provocations. He made the announcement on social media platform X.

"Following the latest Russian provocations and acts of aggression, I have decided to expand the protection of our airspace. We are stepping up the activity of our air force, including F-16 fighter jets and helicopters," the minister said. According to him, recent weeks have shown that Russian provocations are taking various forms and now threaten even places once considered safe. Poland continues to monitor the situation on its eastern border and is reinforcing rapid-response systems against threats across the country.

Reaction to the Leipzig Incident

The Polish minister's statement came shortly after German authorities announced that Russia was behind an attempted terrorist attack at Leipzig Airport in August. In response, several countries, including Poland, summoned their Russian ambassadors. Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a "firm protest against Russian state terrorism and the escalation of hybrid operations" to the ambassador.

Poland shares borders with Russia, Belarus — a close ally of Moscow — and Ukraine, which has been fending off Russian aggression for a fifth year with Warsaw's support.

Fires and Reconnaissance Aircraft

According to the news portal onet.pl, fires have broken out in recent days at two sites in Poland involved in the production or storage of drone systems and aircraft components. Polish security services are investigating whether Russia may be behind the fires.

In addition, Polish aviation has intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea twice within a week. According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, on Thursday it was an Il-20 aircraft, flying about 40 kilometres north of the seaside resort of Ustka. It was flying with its transponder switched off, posing a risk to civilian aircraft. A similar incident occurred on Monday, according to the DPA news agency.

Source: novinky.cz