“This is no joke. These are not trivial matters. This is about human life, about the security of our homeland, so it is necessary to demand explanations from the Minister of Defense, why this drone was not shot down,” said former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on TV Republika, referring to the drone that crashed yesterday in the Lublin region.
The press spokesman for the Lublin police, Deputy Inspector Andrzej Fijołek, told the Polish Press Agency that on Saturday, around 5:40 p.m., the Tomaszów police received a report via the Emergency Notification Centre about the discovery of the remains of an unidentified object in the village of Majdan-Sielec, located in the Krynice commune.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense reported that a drone “bearing no military features” crashed near Zamość. He added that it was most likely a smuggling drone.
Former Minister Błaszczak with a series of questions to the Minister of Defense
Yesterday’s case is another such incident in recent times. During the night of August 19-20, Poland was shaken by the disturbance caused by a drone that violated Polish airspace and exploded in a cornfield in Osiny (Lublin Voivodeship).
Mariusz Błaszczak, former Minister of National Defense, was a guest on the evening program on TV Republika. He was asked directly: In light of these recurring incidents, can Poles feel safe?
“This is a very fundamental question. The question is important because once again, we are dealing with such an event, and we must remember that on Belarusian territory, exercises are being conducted by Russia. The Zapad exercise, another in this series, is a demonstration of the imperial intentions of Russia, ruled by Vladimir Putin,”
he pointed out at the start.
He reminded that “on the Polish side, the Polish Army is also conducting exercises.”
He then directed a series of questions to the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense, headed by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“I am publicly asking: has air and missile defense, including counter-drone defense, been strengthened in the eastern territory of our country? Another question: why was this drone not shot down? The Polish Army has such capabilities. Of course, they are not complete because of the sluggishness of the current Ministry of Defense leadership. For example, the matter of combat and attack helicopters, the Apaches, we all know they are capable of shooting down drones. The helicopters were only ordered this year, when I myself was Minister of Defense. In 2023, I negotiated the terms for acquiring this equipment, including the transfer of helicopters from the U.S. Army, used for this purpose, so that our pilots could be trained,” were his first questions.
And further: “Another question that must be asked publicly: what is happening with the system for detecting and neutralizing drones?”
“This system was acquired when I was head of the Ministry of Defense. From press reports, we learned that the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense has abandoned the modernization of this system. It must be modernized, because in this field, changes occur extremely rapidly. The attacking side changes the software used by drones, so the equipment for defense and neutralization of drones must undergo modernization. This system has proven effective in Ukraine, as the Polish company that produces the SKY Ctrl system uses it there. Ukrainians acquired this very system for counter-drone defense,”
explained the former minister.
“And another question that must be asked publicly: we prepared investments regarding the establishment of an air defense and missile defense battalion in the Lublin Voivodeship, in Ryki County. Nothing has been done in this matter since December 13, 2023. This is therefore a measure of the negligence of today’s ruling coalition of December 13, led by Donald Tusk and with Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz as Minister of Defense. This is no joke. These are not trivial matters. This is about human life, about the security of our homeland, so it is necessary to demand explanations from the Minister of Defense, why this drone was not shot down,”