German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has sharply condemned the night-time intrusion into Polish airspace by military drones suspected to have been launched by Russia, reported dpa.
There was no reason to believe that the drones had ended up in Polish airspace by accident, the minister said in parliament on Wednesday.
"These drones were clearly deliberately set on this course. To fly to Ukraine, they would not have had to fly this route," Pistorius said.
"According to Poland, they were obviously well-armed. So something could have happened at any time," the minister added.
According to Pistorius, it appeared that the drones were launched from Belarusian territory.
Pistorius described the incident as further evidence of a constant threat from provocations by Russian forces in Baltic airspace, in the Baltic Sea, and also in central Europe through hybrid attacks or drone flights, adding that Germany was preparing to counter those threats.
Meanwhile, the German Defence Ministry said that two German fire units of the Patriot air-defence system stationed at the Polish airfield in Rzeszów had "immediately increased their alert status" during the night.
The German contingent in Rzeszów, like other NATO allies, subsequently contributed to the overall situation assessment, it said, adding that there had been no direct use of the Patriot systems in response to the intrusion.
- Drone attack
- Poland
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
