On the morning of 31 August, Polish Air Force fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. According to the Polish military, it was approximately 30 kilometres from the country’s coastline.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that there had been no violation of Polish airspace on this occasion.
“Russia has once again been testing our deterrence and air defence systems,” he wrote on social media platform X.
This is not the first such incident in recent weeks. In early August, Polish fighter jets were also scrambled for several days in a row to intercept Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft.
The Polish authorities regularly report such incidents. They have been occurring at varying intervals for a long time now, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In July, during a massive Russian strike on Ukraine, an Kh-101 cruise missile strayed into Polish airspace and crashed in the Lublin Voivodeship. Following this, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador.