"Warsaw and its partners cannot rule out deliberate provocation when it comes to a Russian missile that reportedly temporarily flew through Polish airspace during the massive attack on Ukraine on December 29," Polish security official Jacek Siviera said in an interview. for TVN24.
In another large-scale attack on Ukraine on December 29, Russia launched 158 drones and missiles, 114 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. Polish officials say one of the Russian missiles crossed the border into Poland before returning.
The head of Poland's National Security Bureau, Sievera, said Polish authorities "have enough information to confirm that this missile was launched by Russian systems."
"It is difficult to assume that crossing 40 km from the border was accidental," Sievera commented, hinting at Moscow's intentions.
Asked if the incident might have been a deliberate provocation, Sievera said: "I can't rule it out. The allies don't rule it out either."
The Polish official linked it to the recent changes in the Polish political leadership. After 8 years of rule by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, in December a coalition of previous opposition parties formed a new government with Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
After the incident, the Polish military conducted a search for possible remnants of the projectile in the eastern part of the Lublin Voivodeship, concluding that "nothing was found that could threaten the security of the residents."
Moscow refused to explain the incident, demanding "concrete evidence" that the missile was Russian.
In another incident on November 15, 2022, during a previous mass, a Russian missile flew into Polish territory, killing two civilians. Polish investigators later concluded that it was a rogue Ukrainian anti-aircraft projectile fired to intercept the Russian attack./BGNES
