Poland investigates suspected violation of its airspace

(Bloomberg) — Poland is investigating a possible violation of its airspace overnight, the armed forces’ operational command said.

The military and police are working to locate a possible crash site south of the city of Lublin in eastern Poland, where an unidentified object may have fallen, the command said in a statement on Sunday.

Although no breach has been confirmed, teams are trying to verify the recorded radar signal and reports from nearby residents to see if the signal could have been triggered by some kind of weather phenomenon.

“It could have been a meteorological event that disrupted the operation of our radar systems or a large flock of birds,” command spokesman Jacek Goryszewski said on public television. “We also cannot rule out the possibility that it was a larger drone that our stations detected.

NATO member Poland, which borders war-torn Ukraine, has boosted its air defenses and beefed up its rapid response systems as it grapples with growing provocations from Russia. Polish jets have been intercepted by Russian surveillance planes near its Baltic Sea coast in recent weeks, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month linked a fire at a facility operated by the country’s biggest drone maker to Russia, calling it an “act of sabotage.”

In July, an investigation determined that an object that entered Polish airspace during a major Russian attack on Ukraine was a Russian missile.

Tusk warned that Russia plans to launch “hybrid” drone and missile strikes against nations supporting Ukraine, including Poland, as the war enters its most crucial phase.

More such stories are available at bloomberg.com