Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone alert in Poland before Belarus border closure
www.theguardian.com
Warplanes scrambled after warning from Ukraine; Poland to seal border over Russian and Belarus’s ‘very aggressive’ Zapad war games. What we know on day 1,295

  • Russian drones have been shot down after entering Nato-member Poland’s airspace. Poland’s armed forces operation command said: “During today’s attack by the Russian Federation carrying out strikes on targets located in the territory of Ukraine, our airspace was repeatedly violated by drone-type objects … We emphasise that the military operation is ongoing, and we urge people to stay at home. The most threatened areas are the Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lubelskie voivodeships [provinces].”

  • Ukraine had earlier warned about the drones, prompting Poland to scramble its own and Nato warplanes, place air defences and radar on high alert, and temporarily close some airports. A Polish defence minister, Cezary Tomczyk, said “an operation to neutralise objects that have violated and exceeded the border of the Republic of Poland is under way”.

  • U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets fly in the sky over Poland’s capital as they take part in a massive military parade to celebrate the Polish Army Day, commemorating the 1920 battle in which Polish troops defeated advancing Bolshevik forces, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Poland is holding a military parade to showcase its state-of-the-art weapons and defense systems, as war rages across its southeastern border in neighboring Ukraine and ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 15. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) Poland shoots down drones over its territory amid Russian attack on Ukraine

  • It came after the Polish prime minister announced Poland will close its border with Belarus on Thursday as a result of the “very aggressive” Zapad military exercises being conducted by Belarus and Russia. Donald Tusk said it was also a response to a growing number of provocations from Russia and Belarus. Separately, Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, warned that “we do not trust Vladimir Putin’s good intentions”. Nawrocki continued: “While waiting, of course, for a long-term peace, permanent peace, which is necessary to our regions, we believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to also invade other countries.”