Poland accuses Belarus of invading Polish airspace with military helicopters – and is reinforcing troops at the border. While Belarus rejects the allegations, Poland speaks of targeted provocation.
Poland accuses neighboring Belarus of violating its airspace with military helicopters and sees this as a deliberate provocation against itself and NATO.
That said Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz. “It is absolutely dangerous. If such situations arise and escalate, our reaction will be appropriate to the potential risk,” he was quoted as saying by the Polish news agency PAP.
Poland reinforces troops at the border
The Ministry of Defense in Warsaw confirmed on Tuesday evening after a lengthy examination that the combat helicopters from the neighboring country had flown through Polish airspace in the morning.
According to the Polish Ministry of Defense, the helicopters had trained near the border. The border crossing took place in the Bialowieza area at a very low altitude, making it difficult for radar systems to detect it.
Belarus denies allegations
Poland informed NATO about the incident and decided to send more troops to the border with Belarus. Additional helicopters should also be stationed there, Skurkiewicz said.
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense, however, rejected the allegation of airspace violations, as reported by the Belta State Agency. The Polish leadership only raises the allegations “to justify the build-up of forces and resources on the Belarusian border,” it said.
Belarus is considered a close ally of Russia and fundamentally supports its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Fears about Wagner mercenaries
The situation between Poland and Belarus is already tense. “We said that we expected provocations, and that was a short-term provocation,” said Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik. There have already been several provocative incidents from Belarus in recent years.
Poland is concerned about the activities of Russia’s private army Wagner, which is in neighboring Belarus. The Polish army had therefore already ordered additional troops from the west of the country to the east.
Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski had already announced that Poland would further fortify the border with Belarus. Since 2022, 186 kilometers of the approximately 400-kilometer border have been provided with a 5.50 meter high fence.
Troops from the private army of mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin were resettled in Belarus after a failed uprising against Moscow. The military leadership in Minsk had announced that the mercenaries in Belarus were now also responsible for training soldiers and should pass on their combat experience from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.