Poland will increase fighter jet and helicopter patrols after another Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying without identification signals was intercepted over the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Polish F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Russian Il-20 aircraft about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the coastal town of Ustka, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
The aircraft did not enter Polish airspace but posed a risk to civilian air traffic because its identification systems were switched off, he said.
Hours later, Kosiniak-Kamysz announced a broader response, saying Poland was expanding protection of its airspace.
“After the recent Russian provocations and acts of aggression, I have decided to expand the protection of our airspace,” he wrote on X. “We are increasing the activity of our air forces, including F-16 aircraft and helicopters.”
Poland cites growing pattern of Russian provocations
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the incidents showed that Russian provocations were “taking various forms and posing threats in places that until now were considered safe.”
Poland is also strengthening its rapid-response capabilities nationwide and continuing to monitor its eastern border, he said.
Thursday’s interception was at least the fourth such incident in recent weeks. Polish jets scrambled to intercept another Russian reconnaissance aircraft north of Łeba on Monday, while similar incidents occurred over the Baltic in mid-July and early August.
Officials said none of the Russian aircraft entered Polish airspace.
Poland’s military has said Russian surveillance aircraft, and increasingly combat jets, routinely fly over the Baltic with their transponders switched off and without filed flight plans, complicating air traffic control and identification efforts.
The interceptions came as Poland’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Mikhno on Thursday to protest what it described as Russian state terrorism and an escalation of hybrid operations against Poland and other countries.
Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór cited repeated incidents near Polish airspace and said Russian military flights without identification equipment violate international safety standards.
The protest followed Germany’s announcement Tuesday that Russia was behind an attempted drone attack on Leipzig Airport in August.
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