WARSAW, Dec 30 (Bernama-Xinhua) — Poland’s armed forces said that a suspected Russian missile from the direction of the border with Ukraine entered the country’s airspace on Friday morning and left after less than three minutes.
The Armed Forces General Command said on social media that the incident occurred at 7.12 (0612 GMT) near the village of Horodlo in the eastern Lubelskie Voivodeship. Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, said the missile travelled about 40 km into Polish airspace, Xinhua quoted the Polish Press Agency report.
In a statement on social media platform X, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said the flight path of the cruise missile was tracked by Poland’s radar systems. Air defence systems stayed alerted. Land forces and air forces, including one F-16 aircraft, were all deployed to trace the object’s flight trajectory.
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), said on social media that he has contacted Polish President Andrzej Duda over the incident, saying that “NATO stands in solidarity with our valued ally and is monitoring the situation”.
Duda has also convened a National Security Bureau meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, and military commanders, the presidential office said.
“There is no reason for concern among residents,” it said. “Conclusions are being drawn; the procedures have worked. Detailed information will be provided by the army.”
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media that he had discussed the incident with President Duda shortly after noon on Friday.
There was no comment from the Russian authorities yet.
–BERNAMA-XINHUA