Poland will not shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine if they are flying in its direction until given permission by all NATO member states, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said on Polish Radio, explaining that Warsaw’s position is derived from White House policy, which fears “escalation of the conflict.”
According to him, Kyiv has long hoped for Poland’s participation in the defense of its airspace, but Warsaw won’t make the relevant decisions alone.
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“If the Alliance does not make such a decision, then Poland should in no way make such decisions alone,” the minister said.
Kosiniak-Kamysh added that there is no such agreement in NATO, saying that it only applies to missiles fired over the territory of Ukraine.
“Of course, there are other procedures for missile [attacks] on [targets within] the territory of the Republic of Poland. Then it is our decision,” he said.
On Monday, July 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk signed a bilateral security agreement between the two countries. For the first time among the agreements already signed, it provides for the possibility of intercepting missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace that were fired toward Poland.
After signing the document, Zelensky said that the relevant mechanism would be developed as soon as possible.
During the Kremlin bombing campaign against Ukraine, Russian missiles have entered Polish airspace in several incidents.
Ukraine-NATO: Common Interests and Challenges on Path to Membership
An example is the night of March 24, when a missile fired by Russian long-range aviation entered Polish airspace and stayed there for 39 seconds.
A similar incident occurred on the morning of Dec. 29 last year, when radar detected an unknown object near the town of Chrubieszów during another attack on Ukraine.
In addition, in April 2023, the wreckage of an air-to-surface missile without a warhead and with inscriptions in Russian on the body was found in Poland.
In November 2022, two missiles hit Poland, killing two people. At the time, the Kremlin claimed that the missiles belonged to Ukrainian air defense. Polish President Andrzej Duda called the incident an accident, saying that nothing indicates deliberate bombing of Polish territory.
Warsaw has recently begun to send fighters into the air during Russia’s bombing campaign against Ukraine.
Technological and Military Considerations
For information about the technical and military considerations related to the Ukraine-Poland Security Cooperation Agreement signed July 8, 2024, read Kyiv Post’s companion article Defending Ukrainian Skies – What Does Poland Have to Offer? by clicking here.
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