Warsaw (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Polish and allied aircraft took off early Saturday to secure Polish airspace, following Russia’s airstrikes on western Ukraine near the Polish border, according to NATO member Poland’s armed forces.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,”
The operational command said.
According to sources, nearly all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts after Ukrainian air force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks. According to the Polish command, Polish and allied air forces concluded the operation after Russia stopped its airstrikes against Ukraine. The Polish command stated that the actions were taken to prevent further attacks and secure the airspace around the threatened area.
On the other hand, Russian military jets entered Estonian airspace, a NATO member, for 12 minutes on Friday in what the country’s government described as an “unprecedentedly brazen” breach, the latest in a series of recent Russian military actions that have unnerved the alliance.
How did the Russian MiG-31 fighters enter Estonian airspace?
Three Russian MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland on Friday, Estonia reported. Italian F-35 fighters supporting NATO’s air defence mission in the Baltic region were called into action to intercept Russian jets and issue a warning, according to officials from Estonia and Italy. NATO chief Mark Rutte commended the swift and decisive response.
Why does Russia deny violating Estonian sovereign airspace?
Russia’s defence ministry denied that three of its MiG-31 fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace without permission. The ministry stated that the jets were on a “scheduled flight… in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring”.
When did Russian drones violate Poland airspace?
A week ago, in a similar incident, a large number of Russian drones violated Poland’s airspace. Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that those drones that posed a direct threat were brought down. He called the incident “an act of aggression” and noted that it was the first time an alliance member had fired shots in the war. Radars tracked over 10 objects, and those that posed a threat were neutralised, according to the Polish forces.
