Tense night in Poland: Russian aircraft intercepted over sea and airspace closed due to weather balloons from Belarus

Poland has reported a "tense night" for its military due to a Russian military aircraft being spotted over the Baltic Sea near Polish territory, as well as the intrusion of weather balloons carrying contraband from Belarus.

Source: European Pravda, citing a message by the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces dated 25 December

Details: According to the statement, in the morning over international waters of the Baltic Sea, Polish fighter jets intercepted, visually identified and escorted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near the boundary of Poland's airspace.

In addition, during the night, targets were seen entering Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.

The Polish military said that these were most likely contraband balloons moving in line with the direction and speed of the wind. The flight of all targets was continuously monitored by radar systems. To ensure safety, part of the airspace over the Podlaskie Voivodeship was temporarily closed to civilian traffic.

Background:

• During Russia's latest large-scale attack on Ukraine on 23 December, Poland once again scrambled its aircraft, while air-raid warnings were issued in areas of Romania bordering Odesa Oblast.
• In December, the EU expanded its sanctions regime against Belarus to include its "hybrid warfare" against neighbouring countries. A key reason for this move was the systematic launches of contraband-carrying weather balloons from Belarus into Lithuania, which have threatened the operation of Vilnius Airport.

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