Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland’s defence minister, has denied knowledge of a Russian missile that fell on Polish territory in December last year, the remains of which were discovered in April.
The December incident, which occurred the month after a stray Ukrainian air defence missile killed two Poles, has raised questions as to whether the military has hushed up Polish air defence failures.
Speaking at a press conference on May 11, Błaszczak said that an investigation regarding an unidentified missile entering Polish airspace on 16 December 2022 had revealed that internal military procedures between allies had been adhered to, but that the commanding officer had failed to inform the minister of defence and other security services about the incident.
It was not until April of this year that the remains of what was later confirmed to be a Russian missile were found by civilians in woods close to the city of Bydgoszcz, triggering the investigation.
Błaszczak said that “on 16 December the air operations centre received information from Ukraine with regard to a flying object approaching Polish air space that was suspected of being a missile.” Poland’s American allies had been notified of the incident, he said. A heightened combat alert was issued, with Polish and US planes taking to the air.
The problem, according to Błaszczak, was that the operational commander failed to communicate the matter to both the minister and the government’s security centre. According to the investigation, efforts to find the object were inadequate and were limited to a police patrol and a helicopter search on 19 December, three days after the event, and nothing thereafter. There had been a failure to request Poland’s Territorial Army help with the search, he noted. Błaszczak also revealed that the initial report on the 16 December incident was inaccurate as it stated that there had not been any incursion into Polish air space, which was proved to be untrue.
The minister said that he would inform the President and the Prime Minister regarding the results of the investigation and hinted that there would be consequences including “disciplinary decisions”.
Opposition and the media have suggested the incident raises doubts about the effectiveness of civilian control over the military. The fact that a rocket was found by accident in the woods four months after it had travelled through Polish air space has raised doubts about the effectiveness of Polish air security too. Opposition MPs have called for a full investigation; some objected to threats of sanctions against individual commanders ahead of such an investigation.
The incursion took place just a few weeks after a Ukrainian air defence missile struck eastern Poland. Before it was finally confirmed that the rocket had come from Ukraine, there was suspicion that it might have been a Russian attack. In December, it transpires, a Russian rocket actually entered Polish air space and the matter has only now come to light.
