The violation of Polish airspace by a Russian combat drone, which occurred in the latest massive missile attack on Ukraine, is a test of Poland’s air defense system and an attempt to intimidate the West, said Jarosław Kraszewski, former commander of the Missile and Artillery Forces of the Polish Land Forces, according to UkrInform.
He considers it unlikely that the Russian “Shahed” drone deviated from its intended target in Ukraine. Instead, he suggested it was a test by the Russians of Poland’s air defense system and an assessment of NATO’s response procedures in such a scenario.
“I believe this was a provocation by the Russian side,” the expert stated.
In his view, this action is also a part of Russia’s effort to intimidate Poland and NATO, aiming to discourage them from actively assisting Ukraine.
Kraszewski said he is convinced that if such a target enters the country’s airspace, “it must be immediately shot down.” Otherwise, Russia will continue its provocations.
The expert is sure that the Polish air defense system should be capable of shooting down such targets over Poland and Ukraine.
“If such a target is shot down over Ukraine, it will not strike a children’s hospital, a power station, a water treatment plant, or a pipeline. It is crucial for the Ukrainians,” Kraszewski emphasized.
He noted that shooting down an aerial target over Ukraine by Poland’s air defense system carries the risk that missile debris could injure civilians on the ground. However, in his opinion, this risk is significantly lower than the potentially fatal consequences of a direct hit by a programmed Russian missile or kamikaze drone.
According to reports, during yesterday’s massive Russian attack on Ukraine, a Russian drone entered Poland from the Chervonohrad area in Lviv Oblast. It was visible on the radar of Poland’s air defense system for approximately half an hour.
Following this missile attack, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on partners to allow Ukraine to carry out long-range strikes on military targets inside Russia.
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