Poland says Russian missile entered then exited its airspace

A Russian cruise missile briefly entered Polish airspace, traveling some 40 kilometers (roughly 25 miles) over Warsaw's territory, early on Friday, according to the country's top military officials. 

This came during a widespread Russian aerial attack on Ukraine that also targeted areas in the west of the country, near the border to Poland, including the city of Lviv. 

Poland's military had initially only reported an unidentified object entering its airspace, without saying what it was or what happened to it.

"Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace... It also left our airspace," General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the general staff of the Polish armed forces, told reporters later on Friday. 

Warsaw summons Russian charge d'affaires

Later Friday, Poland called in the Russian charge d'affaires and demanded an explanation about the violation.

The Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it also called for an immediate halt to such activities.

After the talks, Russia's charge d'affaires in Warsaw was cited as saying that Poland had provided no proof of a border violation by a Russian missile.

"I was handed a note which contained an unsubstantiated claim that allegedly on the morning of 29th December, an airborne object violated Polish airspace, which Polish specialists identified as a Russian guided missile," RIA Novosti news agency quoted diplomat Andrei Ordash as saying.

"No proof was presented. My request for documented proof of what was in the note was refused."

What else did the military say? 

General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of Polish armed forces, said the missile remained in the country's airspace for around 3 minutes and that the military believed it crossed back into Ukraine when it dropped off the radar.

"The entire flight path over Polish territory was being monitored," Klisz said. "At the moment, the scenario that I am recommending is that the missile left Poland's airspace."

He said no action was taken against the projectile. 

"We sent our forces, fighter jets, to intercept it and shoot it down if necessary but the duration and the flight path... made this impossible and allowed the missile to leave Polish territory," Klisz said.

The military also carried out a ground search around the point where it lost radar contact with the projectile, in a bid to reinforce its belief that it had not struck Polish soil. 

National Security Council convenes in Warsaw

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz had said earlier on Friday that he was in contact with the president, prime minister and the military to ascertain the details.

The office of President Andrzej Duda also shared an image of an emergency meeting between politicians and the military. 

In November 2022, two people were killed on Poland's border with Ukraine in an explosion. In that case, it ultimately transpired that a Ukrainian air defense missile had gone astray.

msh/mm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)