Global Courant 2023-05-13 16:46:55
Warsaw, Poland — Poland’s defense ministry said on Saturday it has detected an object in Polish airspace approached from the direction of Belarus and that it is likely an observation balloon.
The ministry tweeted that radar contact with the object had been lost near Rypin, a town in central Poland, 143 kilometers (89 miles) northwest of the capital Warsaw.
A search operation was launched near Rypin involving a helicopter, a drone and ground forces of the Territorial Defense Forces, Armed Forces Operational Command press officer Captain Ewa Złotnicka told TVN24.
The object was spotted around 8:30 p.m. local time on Friday near Białowieża, near the Polish border with Belarus. Radar surveillance was carried out, but around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, the object was no longer visible, Złotnicka said in a telephone interview with the private TV station.
The development reported Saturday follows two other known raids into Polish airspace since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which sits on Poland’s eastern border.
In November, two Polish men were killed when a rocket came down in eastern Poland. Western officials said they believed a Ukrainian air defense missile had gone astray as the Ukrainian air force attempted to repel a large-scale attack from Russia.
Polish military and political officials are also facing questions about another object that landed on Polish territory in December, but was only accidentally discovered in April by a member of the public riding a horse in a forest.
The issue raises questions about how authorities are handling air defenses amid new risks created by the war in Ukraine.
President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki were not informed of the December airspace raid until late April.
The National Security Bureau, a body that advises the president on security and defense matters, said Friday that its chief, Jacek Siewiera, and Duda had been notified on April 26 of the object, which the bureau said was “possibly a cruise missile”. is of Russian manufacture. .”
Officials have said no traces of explosives were found at the site where the airborne object was discovered.
Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak this week pointed to the Armed Forces Operational Commander as responsible for not properly informing political leaders about the object. Army leaders have resisted that claim, insisting that they were performing their duties properly.
The political opposition has therefore called for Błaszczak’s resignation.
(TagsToTranslate)Military and Defense