Poland could shoot down a Russian missile that flew into its territory if it threatened the safety of the Poles.
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Adviser to the Minister of Defense Mieczysław Benek announced this on March 24.
The F-16’s missiles could have shot down the object if it had flown deeper and threatened our safety, but after 39 seconds it left our territory, the adviser said.
In the morning, a Russian missile, flying at an altitude of 400 meters at a speed of 800 km/h, flew 2 kilometers deep into Polish territory. Having fixed it, two pairs of F-16s were lifted into the air – two Polish and two American fighters.
Poland will demand an explanation from Russia in connection with another violation of the country’s airspace, – Polish Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry called on Russia to stop terrorist air attacks on Ukraine, end the war and take care of its internal problems.
Tonight one of the Russian missiles violated Polish airspace. The rocket flew into the area of the village of Osierdów in the Lublin Voivodeship and stayed there for 39 seconds.
Polish political scientist Jaroslaw Wolski gave four reasons why the Poles do not shoot down Russian missiles that violate their airspace:
- To shoot down missiles, Polish airspace must be completely closed to prevent civilian aircraft from being hit. And in Poland there are now 66 civil airports.
- Debris from a downed missile could hit civilians. Also, a projectile from an aircraft, if it does not hit a missile, can lead to tragic consequences for the civilian population.
- By shooting, the Poles would reveal the air defense and F-16 radar maps, which would make it easier for the Russians and Belarusians to find countermeasures to reduce their effectiveness.
- Air defense does not cover 100% of the country. According to Wolski, in Poland it is being restored and is in poor condition both in quantity and quality. Therefore, first of all, they will protect important facilities, such as military airports, command centers, the largest populated areas, the most important critical infrastructure facilities (mainly energy), areas of military mobilization, etc.
The situation with air defense in Poland, according to Volsky, will become “tolerable” in 2028-2030, and “quite good” only in 2035.
At 4.23 am, Polish airspace was violated by one of the maneuverable missiles launched tonight by long-range aviation of the Russian Federation. The targets of the strikes were cities in Western Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement.
If there were any signs that this object was heading towards some target located on Polish territory, of course it would have been shot down,” said Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamisz.
Source: Racurs
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