Russian missile violated Poland’s airspace, Warsaw asked Moscow for explanation

The General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces confirmed that a Russian missile violated Polish airspace on Friday, December 29.

A Russian missile violated Polish airspace at around 7:00 a.m. local time on Friday, December 29, and stayed there for approximately three minutes.

The operational commander of the Polish Army, General Maciej Klisz, stated this at a briefing, RMF24 reported. According to Klisz, the last night “was difficult” for Ukraine and “tense for all elements of the Polish air defense system.”

Polish radar systems tracked the entire flight path of the object over Polish territory, he said. The violation of airspace lasted about three minutes, and the object flew 40 kilometers deep into Polish territory, the general explained.

“Due to the maneuvers it performed and its departure from Polish airspace, I, as the Operational Commander, did not make any decisions regarding this object,” the Polish Army Operational Commander added.

A Russian X-22 or X-101 cruise missile flew into Polish airspace, then flew back into Ukraine and was shot down by Ukrainian air defense.

On Friday evening, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed the head of the Russian Embassy a note demanding an explanation for the violation of Polish airspace by a Russian missile. The press service of the Polish Foreign Ministry reported this.

According to the report, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski summoned the Russian Charge d’Affaires in Warsaw, Andrey Ordash.

The Polish Foreign Ministry handed Ordash a note demanding explanations for the incident involving the violation of the airspace of the Republic of Poland by a cruise missile and an immediate cessation of such activities.

Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, after meeting with the Russian Charge d’Affaires, said that Warsaw would respond more forcefully to further provocations involving airspace violations.

In the future, if a Russian missile flies into Polish territory, Poland will shoot it down, Bartoszewski stated, WPolityce reports.

After receiving reports of an unknown object flying into Polish territory from Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda convened a meeting of the National Security Bureau.

Residents of the Dolgobychów commune in the Lublin Voivodeship observed a flying object moving at high speed.

This happened during a massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine. On the night of December 29, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. Russian air attacks hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities. There are many dead and wounded Ukrainian civilians in the Russian air attacks.