A day after Russian drone incursions in Poland, the country has restricted air traffic to the east, along the border with Belarus and Ukraine. The development comes after Poland witnessed airspace violations and shot down the drones, a first since the beginning of the Ukraine war that a NATO member engaged and destroyed Russian military assets.
Talking about the air traffic control, the PAZP air traffic control agency said that the measure “is being put in place to assure national security”.
Here are 5 key updates:
- Civilian flights will not be allowed to fly over Poland along its border with Belarus and Ukraine, with some exceptions, till December 9. Some military flights and special-purpose flights are barred from this restriction, reported news agency Reuters.
- The announcement was made by the country’s air traffic control agency a day after Poland claimed its airspace was violated 19 times on Wednesday. Poland had scrambled its air defences and shot down Russian drones with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies.
- Reacting to the developments, Russia had said its strikes only targeted Ukrainian military-industrial complex and not Polish territory. Russia also said in a statement that it was willing to hold consultations with the Polish defence ministry.
- The Polish Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that the country requested the UN Security Council to convene a session on the Russian drone incursions, and that the council has agreed.
- After the airspace violations, Poland reportedly sought more air defence systems to tackle Russian incursions. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also called for an “anti-drone wall”, asserting drones weren’t the only threat to the country.
Earlier, four of Poland’s key airports, including Warsaw’s Chopin airport were shut down amid military activity in the airspace. The other affected airports were Rzeszów–Jasionka, Warsaw Modlin, and Lublin.
Notably, even as Russia denied targeting Polish territory, several European leaders believe the move was Moscow’s intentional expansion of its assault against Ukraine.
