"Shaheds" in Poland: Belarus says it warned of approaching "unknown aircraft"
Belarus has reported that it warned Poland and Lithuania about the approach of "unknown aircraft" to their territory during Russia's massive attack on Ukraine on the night of September 10.
According to Censor.NET, this was stated by Chief of the General Staff, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Belarus Pavel Muraveika.
According to him, "during the nighttime mutual exchange of strikes with unmanned aerial vehicles between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the air defense forces and means of the Republic of Belarus constantly tracked unmanned aerial vehicles that lost their course due to the influence of the electronic warfare of the parties."
Some of the "lost" drones were destroyed by the Belarusian air defense forces over the territory of the republic, according to Muraveiko.
"Through the available channels of interaction, from 23:00 on September 9 to 4:00 on September 10, our on-duty forces and means exchanged information on the air and radar situation with the on-duty forces and means of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania. Thus, we notified them of the approach of unknown aircraft to the territory of their countries," the Belarusian General Staff chief said in a statement.
Muraveika says that allegedly "this allowed the Polish side to respond promptly to the actions of the drones by sending its regular forces into the air."
"In fairness, it should be noted that the Polish side also informed Belarusian combat teams about unknown aircraft approaching the border of the Republic of Belarus from the territory of Ukraine," the official added.
Belarus will continue to "fulfill its obligations within the framework of the exchange of information on the air situation with the Republic of Poland and the Baltic States".
Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian "shaheds" had flown into Poland. This information was later confirmed by the Polish Air Command. They noted that aviation had been raised, ground-based air defense systems were on high alert, and 4 airports were closed.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the military used weapons against the targets. He has also already informed NATO Secretary General Rutte about the arrival of the "Shahed" in Poland.
Tusk called an emergency meeting of the Polish Council of Ministers.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported at least 8 Russian UAVs that flew into Poland.
It is known that one of the UAVs hit a house in Poland.
Prime Minister Tusk confirmed that Poland was attacked by Russian drones.
Later, Tusk said that 19 targets flew into Poland, and 4 UAVs were shot down.
