Russian military helicopter breaches Polish airspace near Kaliningrad border

A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter briefly violated Polish airspace near the Kaliningrad border on Wednesday, Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command said. The helicopter crossed into Polish territory north of Braniewo at 11:08 a.m. local time, penetrating up to 300 meters and remaining for 42 seconds before exiting, according to the statement .
Polish military radar tracked the aircraft, while fighter jets were scrambled and ground forces placed on standby. The command stated the incident demonstrated Russia was “once again testing the readiness of our air defense” .
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski commented on the violation after addressing the U.N. Security Council in New York, saying such incidents occur between neighbors. “If the Russian side says ‘sorry, the pilot made a mistake,’ we won’t make a big deal of it, but the one at fault must acknowledge the error,” Sikorski told reporters .
Gen. Roman Polko, in an interview with *Rzeczpospolita*, called the incident part of a broader pattern of Russian hybrid actions aimed at probing Poland’s air defenses. He argued that Polish law must be updated to address hybrid warfare, including defining procedures for military responses and potentially closing airspace in critical areas .
Follow us for live European news
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
10 further sources not geolocated








