Warplanes of the Polish army and allied forces were scrambled today for a "preventive" operation in Polish airspace due to the threat of drone strikes in areas of Ukraine along the Polish-Ukrainian border, the AP reported, citing Polish authorities, BTA reported.
The local administration in the eastern Polish city of Lublin specified that the airport there was closed. The alert was issued after a number of Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot down the Russian drones.
The Polish Army's operational command said in a post on the social media platform "Ex" that ground-based air defense and intelligence systems were on high alert. It stressed that "these actions are essentially preventive" and their purpose is to secure Polish airspace and protect the country's citizens. The command was referring to the threat of drone strikes in Ukrainian areas bordering Poland. No further details were given, however.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also announced on social media that "preventive air operations" had begun in Polish airspace in connection with the threat posed by Russian drones over Ukrainian regions.
The Polish Air Navigation Service announced that Lublin Airport was closed "due to military aviation activities." Airport spokesman Piotr Jankowski told the Polish news agency PAP that the airspace over the airport was closed until 6:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m.) Bulgarian time.