Poland was forced to scramble fighter jets as Russia launched yet another massive campaign of airstrikes.
The eastern European nation, which shares a border with Ukraine, sent out its military jets on the night between May 25 and 26 to ensure its airspace remained unbreached.
In a message shared on the social media platform X, Poland’s Operational Command warned people living in the southeastern part of the country they may hear jets flying by.
The statement continued: “Tonight, intense long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation is being observed, related to missile strikes against objects located, among others, in the western territory of Ukraine.
“The last activity of Russian aviation related to strikes in western Ukraine was recorded on the night of May 7-8 this year.”
A few hours later, the command issued a fresh statement, informing locals the safeguarding operation had ended.
It read: “Due to the end of long-range missile strikes of the Russian Federation on targets in the western part of Ukraine, the operation of military aviation in Polish airspace has been ended and the deployed forces and resources have returned to standard operational activities.
“The Polish Army monitors the situation on the territory of Ukraine on an ongoing basis and remains on constant readiness to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.”
Polish concerns over possible Russian breaches of the country’s airspace during airstrikes targeting Ukraine are justified.
In March, a Russian cruise missile reportedly entered Polish airspace for approximately 39 seconds during another major missile and drone attack on Ukraine.
A similar incident had already happened in late December. This prompted the Polish Foreign Ministry to summon Russian charge d’affaires Andrei Ordash to hand him a note demanding an explanation and “an immediate cessation of such activities”, according to Warsaw.