Polish FM says those responsible for airspace incursion must admit mistake

Poland has called on Russia to acknowledge the pilot’s mistake that led to a Mi-8 helicopter entering Polish airspace.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Warsaw will not escalate the situation if Russia takes such a step, Calibre.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

“If the Russian side says, ‘Sorry, the pilot made a mistake,’ we will not make a big issue out of it. But whoever is responsible must admit the mistake,” Sikorski noted.

The minister added that the military would decide whether to potentially shoot down Russian aircraft.

According to him, if the Polish command considers the violation of its airspace intentional and posing a threat, the country’s Constitution clearly defines the task of the Armed Forces: “The Polish Armed Forces defend the homeland.”

On September 23, Poland reported that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter briefly entered its airspace north of the settlement of Braniewo.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said the helicopter had flown from Russia’s Kaliningrad Region and crossed about 300 metres into Polish airspace, where it remained for 42 seconds.

The helicopter was tracked by Polish military radar systems, while fighter jets were scrambled and ground forces were placed on standby.

The Polish command stated that the incident indicated that Russia was “once again” testing the readiness of Poland’s air defence.

Polish air defence crews remain on round-the-clock surveillance and at constant readiness to protect the country’s airspace.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov