LONDON — Poland scrambled “navy aviation” in its airspace early Tuesday morning in response to Russian missile strikes in western Ukraine, the nation’s Operational Command stated.
“Because of the exercise of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation finishing up strikes on objects situated, amongst others, in western Ukraine, navy aviation has begun working in Polish airspace,” the command stated in a press release posted to X.
The operational commander “activated all out there forces and assets at his disposal, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance programs reached a state of readiness,” the assertion added.
“The steps taken are aimed toward guaranteeing security in areas bordering the threatened areas,” the command stated. “The Operational Command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the present state of affairs, and its subordinate forces and assets stay in full readiness for instant response.”
Polish Air Power F-16 fighters participate within the NATO Air Policing mission over allied airspace on July 4, 2023.
John Thys/AFP by way of Getty Photos
The command stated that its forces have been stood down after round 4 hours, with “no violation of the airspace of the Republic of Poland” noticed.
The Polish navy, it added, “is continually monitoring the state of affairs within the territory of Ukraine and stays in fixed readiness to make sure the safety of Polish airspace.”
All of western Ukraine — and far of the remainder of the nation — was positioned underneath air raid alerts within the early hours of Tuesday. Nightly Russian drone, and infrequently additionally missile, assaults have grow to be the norm in Ukraine because the nation begins a fourth yr of its defensive warfare.
This weekend, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a press release to social media, “Daily, our folks stand in opposition to aerial terror.”
On Saturday evening, Russia launched its largest-ever drone strike, firing 267 UAVs into Ukraine, in accordance with the Ukrainian air drive.
Russian and Ukrainian projectiles have at occasions crossed into Polish and different NATO nationwide airspace. In 2022, two folks have been killed in japanese Poland by what the Polish Prosecutor’s Workplace stated was a Ukrainian S-300 air protection missile that went astray throughout a Russian assault.
Tracers are seen within the evening sky as Ukrainian servicemen hearth at drones throughout a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 21, 2025.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
In at the very least two different situations, Warsaw has alleged that Russian cruise missiles briefly violated Polish airspace on their approach to targets inside Ukraine. Poland summoned the Russian cost d’affaires to demand an evidence after one such incident in December 2023.
NATO allies Romania and Latvia have additionally reported airspace violations by Russian drones throughout Moscow’s warfare on Ukraine.
