The number of drones approaching Poland during the night and early morning from Tuesday to Wednesday was much higher than 21 – closer to 50. At the last moment, over the territory of Belarus, some of the objects launched from Russia changed their flight path, according to several sources of the Niezalezna.pl portal.
The head of the Presidential Bureau of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, confirmed the reports from Niezalezna.pl and TV Republika regarding the violation of Polish airspace by more than twenty Russian drones. He stated that it was not 19 – as the authorities had previously reported – but 21 drones that crossed the border. This number may still change. The Polish Armed Forces are still searching for some of the machines that crashed or were shot down.
The scale of the attack
According to the Prime Minister’s Wednesday address in the Sejm, already on September 9 at 22:06, the military recorded the start of Russia’s massive air attack on Ukraine, using drones and missiles. At that point, operational command increased readiness and activated ground systems, early warning aircraft, and cooperated with NATO allies. The first airspace violation was recorded around 23:30, the last one at 6:30. This shows the scale of the overnight operation. According to Donald Tusk, by Wednesday morning 19 violations had been registered. That number has now risen to 21.
The large-scale operations of the Polish Armed Forces and the support of allies were all the more justified, as the threat was serious. According to our sources, nearly 50 objects were heading toward Poland, and some of them, including over Belarusian territory, changed their course.
There could have been more violations
We called the Operational Command of the Armed Forces (DORSZ) to officially confirm these numbers. “For now, we cannot confirm or deny,” we were told.
There could potentially have been even more violations. “We observed what was happening – the Ukrainian side was constantly operating and countering the drones. There was always a threat that the number would increase,” said the spokesperson of DORSZ, Lt. Col. Jacek Goryszewski.