Poland says Russian missile entered its airspace before leaving towards Ukraine
“Everything indicates that a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace. We spotted it using radar. He left this space” immediately, in the direction of Ukraine, declared Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Wieslaw Kukula.
The missile flew over Polish airspace for three minutes, over around forty kilometers, said Maciej Klisz, operational commander of the Polish army. “We sent our forces there, planes to intercept it and shoot it down if necessary, but time [de survol] and the way he maneuvered (…) allowed the missile to leave Polish territory »General Klisz declared again.
Following a large wave of strikes against Ukraine, Poland’s air defense system was put on alert overnight from Thursday to Friday, he said. To avoid any mistakes, a ground search was launched at the location where the missile’s radio signal was lost, army officials said.
After the incident, Polish civil and military authorities held emergency meetings, and the president, Andrzej Duda, spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.