Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces was at its highest state of readiness on Saturday and Sunday morning as Russia carried out airstrikes in Ukraine, according to the Operational Command’s official social media account.
“To ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces has activated all necessary procedures. Polish and allied aircraft are intensively operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness,” the Operation Command wrote on X.
The post added that the heightened state of readiness were “preventative in nature” and did not suggest any Russian aricraft had breached the country’s airspace.
“These actions are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened region. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and the forces and resources under its command remain fully prepared for immediate response,” the post said.
The Operational Command’s post comes amid heightened fears across Europe after multiple high-profile breaches of NATO airspace by Russian drones and fighter jets, including into Poland and Estonia.
In response to the Russian fighter jet incursion, Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest after three Russian fighter aircraft entered its airspace without permission on Sept. 19 and stayed there for 12 minutes, the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia violated Estonian airspace four times this year “but today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen.”
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur also said the government had decided “to start consultations among the allies” under NATO’s article 4, he wrote on X, after Russian jets “violated our airspace yet again.”
The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal political decision-making body, is due to convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said Friday.
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Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in a “preventive” operation in Poland’s airspace Sept. 13 because of a threat of drone strikes in neighboring areas of Ukraine, and the airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed, authorities said.
The alert lasted around two hours. It came after multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns about the expansion of Russia’s more than three-year war in Ukraine.
The Polish military’s operational command posted on X on Saturday afternoon that ground-based air defense and reconnaissance systems were on high alert. It stressed that “these actions are preventive in nature,” and were aimed at securing Poland’s airspace and protecting the country’s citizens. It cited a threat of drone strikes in regions of Ukraine bordering Poland, but didn’t give further details.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also posted that “preventive air operations” had begun in Polish airspace because of the threat posed by Russian drones operating over nearby areas of Ukraine. The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency said that Lublin Airport was closed to air traffic “due to military aviation activities,” and the government security center warned of a threat of air attack for several border counties in the region.