Drone launch over government buildings in Warsaw: Polish special services stated that it was controlled by a Ukrainian man and a Belarusian woman

On September 15, a Ukrainian citizen and a Belarusian citizen were detained in the Polish capital Warsaw for flying a drone over government buildings and the Belvedere Palace. This was reported by Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the coordinator of Poland's special services, refuting rumors that it was a large-scale espionage operation, UNN writes with reference to TVN24.

Details

The spokesman for the coordinator of Poland's special services stated at a press conference on Tuesday that "employees of the State Protection Service of Poland (SOP) acted very vigilantly and quickly, identifying the individuals who were operating the drone."

"It's a young Belarusian woman and her Ukrainian friend, who is in his twenties. These individuals were immediately detained by SOP officers. The police were notified, they arrived at the scene and arrested them," Dobrzyński said.

A TVN24 reporter learned that the detainees were a 21-year-old Ukrainian citizen and a 17-year-old Belarusian citizen.

This information was confirmed by the police. The country's prime minister announced the detention of two Belarusian citizens on Monday evening.

Dobrzyński said that the detainees "are giving their testimonies directly to the police."

"Employees of the Internal Security Agency are monitoring the situation and also investigating what prompted these individuals to launch the drone in a prohibited area," he emphasized.

When asked if it was already known what the detainees had explained, he replied that he did not know. He stressed that the investigation was ongoing.

"We deny rumors that this is some large-scale espionage operation. At this stage, no one can definitively determine this. These are young people, perhaps it was negligence, perhaps ignorance, perhaps they wanted to film here, over Łazienki (Royal) Park. Especially considering that they were in Łazienki Park, and that's where the drone was launched," Dobrzyński said.

Edyta Adamus from the Social Communications Department of the Warsaw Police Headquarters reported that police officers seized the drone used by the detainees.

"An investigation is currently underway under Article 212 of the Aviation Act," the police officer explained.

This article states that anyone who, while operating an aircraft, violates the air traffic rules in force in the area of flight performance, is subject to imprisonment for up to five years.

Prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, a representative of the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office, said that the relevant services are examining the evidence in this case.

"At this stage, the evidence and circumstances of the incident confirm a violation of aviation law, and not the commission of an espionage crime," he added.

He also noted that the prosecutor's office plans to present evidence on Wednesday.

Drone flight ban over government buildings and critical infrastructure

It is reported that in Poland, for security reasons, drone flights over government buildings and other critical infrastructure facilities are prohibited. Such facilities are marked with signs informing users about the drone flight ban. Any drone operator with a valid license to use it can also use a special application to check where drones are located and where it is forbidden to fly.

Every flight must be reported using the DroneTower application. The website of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency has a DroneMap with marked zones, including those where no-fly zones apply.

Context

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that a drone was detected over government buildings and the Belvedere Palace, which was promptly neutralized by the State Protection Service.

At that time, Tusk stated that two Belarusian citizens had been detained.

Earlier, on the night of September 10, Russian attack drones crossed Polish airspace. This happened during a massive Russian air attack on Ukraine. In the village of Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, a Russian drone crashed into a residential building, damaging the roof and a car. Due to this, the airport in Rzeszów was closed, and the airspace over Lublin airport was also closed.

The head of the country's government, Donald Tusk, later confirmed the opening of fire on objects that violated the country's airspace and convened an emergency government meeting due to the violation of airspace by Russian UAVs.