Polish and allied aircraft were briefly deployed in a “preventive” operation in Poland’s airspace on Saturday afternoon due to a threat of drone strikes in neighbouring parts of Ukraine, authorities have said. An alert was issued, which lasted around two hours before being cancelled.
The airport in the eastern city of Lublin was closed at the time of the alert.
The incident came after Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace on Wednesday, which NATO fighter jets then shot down as concerns mount over Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Warnings were issued warnings for five counties in the Lublin Voivodeship. The warnings, which were published in a post on X, read: “Threat of attack from the air. Use extreme caution. Follow the instructions of services. Expect further announcements.”
“Due to the threat from Russian drones operating over Ukraine near the border with Poland, preventive air operations – Polish and allied – have begun in our airspace. Ground-based air defence systems have reached a state of highest readiness,” wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a post of his own.
Tusk later followed up with a post saying “Threat level canceled. Thank you to all involved in the operation in the air and on the ground. We remain vigilant.”