Belarus says Polish helicopter violated airspace amid rising tensions
3 Min Read
The Defense Ministry says the Polish helicopter violated the state border airspace twice within an hour, flying up to 1.5 kilometers inside Belarus.
-
Migrants at the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, in Belarus, watch a helicopter overhead on Nov. 8 (AFP)
The defense ministry of Belarus announced in its claim on Thursday that a Polish helicopter violated its airspace amid heightened tensions between the two nations in light of the war in Ukraine.
"At about 15:20 (1220 GMT), an aircraft crossed the border of the Republic of Belarus," the Ministry's statement said, adding that the aircraft flew up to 1.5 kilometers inside Belarusian airspace.
"At 16:22 (1322 GMT) the helicopter again violated the state border," the statement continued.
In a different yet related context, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry released a statement earlier this month summoning the Polish chargé d'affaires and demanding "an objective investigation be carried out immediately."
Belarus was adamant that these "comprehensive measures" be taken to prevent these incidents from taking place again.
In light of these updates, the Polish army argued that the Belarusian claim was "false", noting that the "Records made by flight control stations and radar stations confirm: such an event did not take place," according to the army's operational command in a statement.
Read next: Belarus begin drills near Poland, Lithuania amid rising tensions
"The Polish army respects and follows all provisions and regulations relating to the inviolability of borders."
Another day, another violation
Belarus has previously accused Poland of breaching its airspace and continues to do so, but Poland has been repeatedly denying the claims.
Bilateral relations have been on hold for years and have hit new lows.
Poland, once one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since the Russian special military operation last year, has now officially stopped sending weapons to Ukraine, as of last week.
Still, Russia and Belarus were "watching" Poland closely according to the Kremlin, calling it a "rather aggressive" country.
Earlier this month, a Polish helicopter violated the airspace, according to the Belarusian border service.
"On September 1, Belarusian border guards recorded a violation of the Belarusian airspace by Poland in the Berastavitsa district of the Grodno Region. A Polish Mi-24 military helicopter crossed the state border at an extremely low altitude, entered a total of 1200 meters [3,900 feet] into the territory of Belarus, and then turned back," the border service said on Telegram.
In connection w/ the recorded fact of violation of the state border of #Belarus by a helicopter of the Polish Armed Forces on September 1, 2023, the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of Poland in Belarus has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Belarus
— Belarus MFA 🇧🇾 (@BelarusMFA) September 1, 2023
🔗https://t.co/qfAPAofvg2 pic.twitter.com/6jcuRWGQBB
Western pressure on Belarus has been piling up for years over its relationship with Russia, especially during the conflict in Ukraine but has recently taken a sharp upward trend after Ukraine's counteroffensive proved to be unsuccessful.
