“This is a very severe test for Poland’s defense capabilities—both in the political and diplomatic sphere and in the strictly military one. So far, yesterday did not go well. The authorities are confused…” said Tomasz Sakiewicz, head of the station, speaking on Republika while commenting on the latest findings of the Niezalezna.pl portal.
On Sunday morning, another dozen or so balloons entered Polish airspace from Belarus. The objects are currently airborne and under close monitoring by the services, the Border Guard confirmed in a conversation with the Niezalezna.pl portal.
This is yet another provocation by eastern services in a short period, carried out under the guise of smuggling. Journalists from the Niezalezna.pl portal had earlier learned that on the night from Friday to Saturday (January 16/17), more than 50 objects entered Poland. Most of them were so-called smuggling balloons equipped with tracking devices and contraband. The services are not disclosing the full number of recovered fragments so far—it is known that there are already more than nine.
Sakiewicz: This Is Another Test
The matter was commented on today during the program “Political Coffee” on Republika by the station’s head, editor Tomasz Sakiewicz. Referring to the findings of the Niezalezna.pl portal, he indicated that the case concerns probably 16 balloons.
“After yesterday’s launch of 50 such objects, some of which contained containers with contraband—probably to cover up the real objective. And that objective is testing Polish radars and defensive responses,” he assessed.
He recalled that “one of them landed in the middle of Białystok.”
In Sakiewicz’s assessment, “today we have another test. This is a war of nerves being conducted by Belarus, Lukashenko, and Putin against Poland. It is not known how it will end.”
“Is this the beginning of something else, or merely testing? We will try to determine what is really happening and what the purpose of these actions is. We know one thing—this is a very severe test for Poland’s defense capabilities, both in the political and diplomatic sphere and in the strictly military one. So far, yesterday did not go well. The authorities are confused,” he added.