Poland will demand explanations from Moscow after a Russian missile violated the Polish airspace during the mass attack against Ukraine on the morning of March 24, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.
Poland, a NATO member, scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace as Russian forces launched another large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine.
The Russian cruise missile entered Poland's airspace for 39 seconds, Jacek Siewiera, chief of Poland’s National Security Bureau, said on X on March 24. He also said the NATO allies had been briefed about yet another violation of the NATO border by a Russian cruise missile.
The Polish Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Pawel Wronski called on Russia to stop its “terrorist air attacks on the people and territory of Ukraine, to end the war and address the country's internal problems.”
Russia launched drone and missile attacks on different oblasts across Ukraine in the early hours of March 24, targeting critical infrastructure. The attacks targeted regions as far west as Lviv Oblast.
Ukraine’s Air Forces said the Russian forces fired 29 cruise missiles and 28 Shahed loitering munitions, targeting eight regions in the west, center, north, and south of Ukraine. Of the total air targets fired across Ukraine, 18 cruise missiles and 25 Shahed drones were intercepted by the air defense, according to the report.
Russia has recently once again intensified its attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, with the March 22 strike damaging the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, Ukraine's largest hydroelectric station.
Russian missiles have previously entered Poland's airspace during attacks on Ukraine. On Dec. 29, a missile entered the country's airspace, putting Polish defenses on high alert.
In another incident on Nov. 15, 2022, a missile flew onto Polish territory during a Russian mass strike, killing two civilians. Polish investigators later concluded that it was a stray Ukrainian surface-to-air missile launched to intercept a Russian attack.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
