2024-08-26 15:10 update: 2024-08-26, 18:20
Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak
A search is underway for an object which flew into Polish territory during Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Armed Forces (DORSZ) has said.
Early on Monday morning, Russia launched a massive air attack on Ukraine, primarily targeting its energy infrastructure, including in regions bordering Poland. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russians hit the country with more than 100 missiles and around 100 attack drones.
General Maciej Klisz from DORSZ told a briefing later on Monday that at least three radar stations confirmed the entry of an object.
He said that the object entered Poland at 6:43am Polish time near the Ukrainian town of Chervonohrad. This site had already been attacked several times by the Russian side, he said, due to the power plant that is located there.
After flying approximately 25 kilometres over Poland, the object disappeared from radar.
Klisz also said that "it is clear... that the object is not a missile, it is not a hypersonic, ballistic or guided missile. It is probably an unmanned aerial vehicle."
According to him ,the situation was under control and being closely monitored, and that Poland was ready to shoot the object down at any given point. He said that he had been in contact with Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army Wieslaw Kukula.
"Because of the weather conditions, I was unable to give the command to take it down due to the lack of fulfilment of procedures, that is, the so-called visual confirmation of the object's destruction," Klisz said at the briefing.
"The object was not confirmed by either allied or Polish aircrafts, nor was the object visually identified by helicopters," he said.
He added that the object is likely still on Polish territory, although he also did not rule out the possibility that it had left Poland.
In response to the incident, a search operation was launched involving 75 soldiers, including Territorial Defense Forces and military helicopters.
Regions along the border with Poland are among the fifteen Ukrainian regions that have been under a large-scale rocket assault carried out by Russia on that day.
Earlier in the day, DORSZ said that it was undertaking air operations in southeastern Poland with the participation of allied military aircraft due to increased Russian Federation long-distance plane activity, targeting Western Ukraine from the early hours of Monday morning.
The command added that the last recent attacks of this kind were noted in Western Ukraine on July 8. (PAP)
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