The ground search for the Russian aircraft that entered Poland on Monday will continue until September 2, the operational commander of the country's Armed Forces, General Maciej Klisz, decided on Thursday, suspending the search using air assets, PAP reports, UNN writes.
Details
The Operational Command of the Armed Forces (DORSZ) on Thursday evening reported on Twitter that the search for an unidentified aircraft that entered Poland on Monday and disappeared from radar in the Tyszówka commune (Lubelskie Voivodeship) has ended with a negative result.
From Monday to Thursday, soldiers of the country's terrorist defense forces (WOT), supported by mounted units and an unmanned aerial vehicle, surveyed 78 square kilometers, or 7,800 hectares.
"The area of the alleged crash site was fully inspected by military helicopters, also without positive results. A detailed analysis of satellite images of the area is currently underway," DORSZ said.
The Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces decided to suspend the search using air assets and continue the ground search until September 2. WOT soldiers will be supported by horse patrols. Support will be provided by hunters from the Polish Hunting Society.
"We will keep you informed of the progress and results of the search activities," DORSZ said.
Туск про російський безпілотник над Польщею: ми не знаємо, чи він взагалі був28.08.24, 20:21
Addendum
According to the newspaper, the drone allegedly entered Poland on Monday at 6:43 a.m. local time near the Ukrainian city of Chervonogorod. The object disappeared from radar in the Tyszówka commune, south of Hrubieszów.
Later, DORSZ spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryshevsky added that the flight path, speed and altitude of the object suggest that it was an unmanned aerial vehicle, such as the Shahed type, which was used by the Russians during the attack on Ukraine.
The military does not rule out the possibility that the object may not have crashed in Poland, but may have flown further or turned back, but the radar systems failed to detect it.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, missiles have broken through the Polish border several times during rocket attacks. In November 2022, a shell fell in the village of Przewodów in the Lubelskie Voivodeship, killing two people. In December of the same year, a Russian Ch-55 missile fell in the forest near Bydgoszcz, and the discovery of its remains was announced in April 2023. Moreover, the missiles entered Polish airspace near the border with Ukraine several times for several tens of seconds, but left it, the publication points out.