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Poland's Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks to the press
Photo: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl / Agencja Wyborcza.pl / REUTERS
Poland has handed over a note of protest to Russia for violating its airspace. The Foreign Ministry in Warsaw summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Russian embassy, Andrei Ordash, on Friday evening and conveyed the message to him.
Poland's military is convinced that a Russian missile had entered the country's airspace. As the ministry announced, the protest note calls on Russia to "explain the incident of the airspace violation and the immediate cessation of such activities."
The Polish Chief of the General Staff, Wieslaw Kukula, announced on Friday that, according to radar observations, a Russian missile had violated the airspace of NATO member Poland. According to the information, the rocket was in Polish airspace for about three minutes, flying over 40 kilometers. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the defense alliance stands by its member Poland and remains vigilant.
Meanwhile, Polish soldiers resumed the search for rocket debris on Saturday morning, according to the army. About 480 soldiers took part in the search near the town of Zamsosc in southeastern Poland. "The aim of the search is to definitively confirm that no element of the object is on Polish territory," the Polish Army Operations Command said on Platform X (formerly Twitter).
It is not the first time since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine that flying objects have entered Poland's airspace. In November 2022, a missile hit a Polish village on the border with Ukraine, killing two people. The West assumes that it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that had been used to defend against Russian attacks.
sak/dpa