Poland briefly went on high alert on Saturday after reports
of possible drone strikes near its eastern border with Ukraine. The country’s
military confirmed that ground-based air defense and reconnaissance systems
were placed on full readiness, and Polish as well as allied aircraft were
deployed over national airspace as a precautionary measure.
Authorities temporarily closed Lublin Airport, citing
military aviation activity. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the move as a
“preventive air operation” in response to the threat posed by Russian drones
operating over nearby parts of Ukraine. The alert lasted for around two hours
before the military announced the operation had been completed and systems
returned to normal.
This latest incident followed multiple Russian drones
crossing into Poland earlier in the week, an episode that prompted NATO to
dispatch fighter jets to intercept and shoot them down. Although Moscow denied
deliberately targeting Poland, many European leaders see the repeated
incursions as a deliberate provocation aimed at testing NATO’s response.
Polish forces have been scrambled several times in recent
months as Russian airstrikes inside Ukraine approach NATO airspace. Separately,
Romania also reported deploying F-16 jets on Saturday to intercept a drone that
briefly entered its airspace, underscoring how the war in Ukraine continues to
spill over into neighboring countries and keep NATO on high alert.
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