Russian military helicopter violated Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea
On the evening of April 25, a Russian helicopter entered Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea, possibly testing the readiness of Poland's air defense systems.
Photo: Vasilyev Serge, CC BY 2.0
Poland. On April 25, around 10:00 PM, a Russian military helicopter, presumably a Mi-8 belonging to the Baltic Fleet, violated Polish airspace over its territorial waters near Krynica Morska, reported the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces.
The flight was tracked and monitored both by military radar systems of the Polish Armed Forces and by civil systems of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PAŻP).
According to a statement by Operational Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, the helicopter flew without a pre-filed flight plan and with disabled identification systems. Attempts to contact the crew via emergency channels were unsuccessful.
Polish air defense forces were placed on full combat readiness but did not take active measures.
The Operational Command's statement indicated that the incident could be interpreted as Russia testing the reaction and readiness of Poland's air defense systems.
Earlier it was reported that near the Polish town of Mielnik, migrants, supported by a Belarusian officer, attempted to forcefully cross the Polish border, throwing stones at border guards, but Polish border guards and soldiers successfully repelled the attempt.