Moscow is not going to give an explanation about the Russian missile in Polish airspace until it is provided with "concrete evidence" that the missile is Russian, the country's charge d'affaires in Poland Andrei Ordash said, as quoted by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
The Polish Foreign Ministry reported on Dec. 29 that it had summoned Ordash after a Russian missile entered the Polish airspace during the morning mass attack against Ukraine.
Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski handed Ordash a note demanding an explanation of the incident and "an immediate cessation of such activities," the ministry wrote.
Russia unleashed a barrage of 158 attack drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight and in the early morning of Dec. 29 in the largest air attack on the country since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Elsa Court
During the attack, the Polish army's Operational Command recorded an unidentified object entering Poland's airspace from the border with Ukraine. The incident prompted Polish President Andrzej Duda to convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.
After the meeting, Polish military officials said that the aerial object was likely a Russian missile, which spent less than three minutes in the country's airspace and then went back to Ukraine.
Witnesses reportedly saw the object "moving at great speed" above the village of Dolhobyczow in Lublin Voivodeship, less than 5 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
After speaking with the Russian envoy, Bartoszewski told reporters, as cited by Polish media outlet RMF24, that such actions by Russia are "testing our effectiveness and our approach to defense," assuring that Poland will "respond quickly and effectively if this happens again."
Elsa Court
Bartoszewski said he's made it clear to Ordash that any repeated attempts of "testing the borders" of Poland will be met "with a stronger reaction" from Warsaw.
He added that if the Russian missile "had flown a bit further into Polish territory, it would have been shot down."
"We have a well-prepared army, great commanders, and a great minister of national defense, and we will do everything to ensure that Poland's security increases significantly in 2024."
Dolhobyczow lies 12 kilometers north of the village of Przewodow, where two people were killed in November 2022 when an out-of-control Ukrainian air defense missile hit a grain storage facility. On that day, Russian forces carried out a massive attack against Ukraine, launching around 100 missiles against the country's energy infrastructure.
Ordash reportedly referred to the incident to deny Russia's responsibility in the Dec. 29 case.
Dinara Khalilova
(Updated: )
