Polish Air Force intercepts Russian military aircraft over Baltic Sea

by · UPI

Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Polish Air Force fighters intercepted a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft that came near Polish airspace while over the Baltic Sea, Polish officials announced on Thursday.

The aircraft was flying near Polish airspace when the Polish fighters intercepted, identified and escorted it out of the area, The Independent reported.

In addition to the Russian military aircraft near its borders, Polish military officials said several objects also were seen entering Polish airspace during the nighttime hours and had come from the same direction as Belarus.

Those objects are not connected to the Russian military, though.

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"After detailed analysis, it was determined that these were most likely smuggling balloons, moving in the direction and speed of the wind," officials with the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command said early Thursday morning in a translated post on X.

"The flight of all objects was continuously monitored by radar systems," the Polish military officials said. "To ensure safety, a portion of the airspace over the Podlaskie Voivodeship was temporarily closed to civilian traffic."

Poland's Operational Command is monitoring the situation over the Baltic Sea and near Belarus and "taking necessary actions" as needed, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a post on X.

"No threat to the security of Polish airspace has been identified," he said. "The situation is monitored on an ongoing basis, and forces and resources remain in constant readiness to ensure the security of Polish airspace."

Polish aircraft also were deployed on Tuesday while Russia conducted airstrikes on several targets in Ukraine.

That response was supported by Poland's NATO allies and included Spanish aircraft helping to police Polish airspace and Dutch ground forces supporting Poland's air defenses.

The Russian military had launched more than 30 missiles and 650 drones against Ukrainian targets on Tuesday amid aerial assaults on energy and infrastructure targets in and near Kyiv.

Russian drones also penetrated Polish airspace in September with no strikes or damage done.

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