Air alert sirens were sounded in eastern Poland today, with Polish air force (Air Force) fighter jets being scrambles and two airports being temporarily closed after Russia carried out strikes in Ukraine near the Polish border, Reuters reported, citing officials in Warsaw and Kiev, BTA reports.
The Polish army said there were no recorded violations of the country's airspace and that the military aircraft had ended their operations. The airports of Rzeszow and Lublin have resumed operations after their temporary closure.
“A large-scale attack in western Ukraine, very close to the Polish border, has just ended“, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a press conference. "It is likely that a gas station was hit again and our planes were alerted," he added.
Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Gorishevsky told private broadcaster TVN24 that a drone had fallen or been shot down about 4 kilometers from the Polish border.
A Ukrainian official told Reuters that explosions had been heard several kilometers from Ukrainian territory, a few kilometers from the Polish border.
The Ukrainian border service said after the attack that there was no damage to border crossings.
A Russian drone hit a passenger train just two kilometers from the Ukrainian-Polish border on Sunday.
An air alert was declared in two regions in eastern Poland and residents were urged to take shelter. Local media reported sirens had sounded.
State news channel Te Fau Pe Info (TVP Info) broadcast footage showing the evacuation of schoolchildren in the eastern city of Lublin.
Poland is strengthening its checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Koszyniak-Kamysz said a few days ago in the context of Russian drone attacks over the weekend on Ukrainian territory, very close to the NATO member's border posts, Reuters reported.
A Russian drone struck a passenger train bound for the Polish capital Warsaw on Sunday, which happened on Ukrainian territory, near the Polish border with Ukraine.
Border guards later said they had closed the border checkpoints, evacuated people from waiting vehicles and were seeking shelter for them.
"The actions Russia's actions in recent days threaten the security of all of Europe. "In accordance with the decision of our government, the infrastructure used by the border guards is being reinforced," Koszyniak-Kamysz wrote on the Ex social platform.
"Servicemen from the 18th Engineer Regiment are already carrying out tasks that will further strengthen the checkpoints and infrastructure near the Polish-Ukrainian border," the minister said.
In turn, the command of the Polish army said in a statement that engineer regiments are building border fortifications using prefabricated containers surrounded by wire mesh, which can be filled with sand or gravel and serve as a protective wall against explosions, as well as a supporting structure.
The construction activities also include the construction of observation and security posts near the Polish-Ukrainian border - in the area of the border crossings "Dorohusk", "Medica" and "Korchova".