Poland finds no Russian rocket parts after airspace breach

Nearly 500 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Force took part in the search near the city of Zamosc in southeastern Poland.

 Polish Defence Minister and deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of the Armed Forces at National Security Council meeting in Warsaw (photo credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS)
Polish Defence Minister and deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of the Armed Forces at National Security Council meeting in Warsaw
(photo credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS)

Poland ended a ground search on Saturday after finding no parts of a suspected Russian rocket which it said had violated the country's airspace on Friday morning, the Polish army said.

"At 3:00 pm, the inspection of the designated area was completed...The search result was negative," the Polish army's operational command wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

"Military activities have been completed and we do not plan any further field verification."

An object had breached Poland's airspace on Friday

Polish military officials said on Friday that an object had breached the country's airspace from the direction of its border with Ukraine on Friday morning before exiting within three minutes of entry.

Ukrainian authorities had reported a mass attack on various cities throughout Ukraine in the early hours of Friday.

A news conference following National Security Council meeting in Warsaw after an unidentified aerial object entered Polish airspace, Poland, December 29, 2023. (credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS)
A news conference following National Security Council meeting in Warsaw after an unidentified aerial object entered Polish airspace, Poland, December 29, 2023. (credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS)

"The Ukrainian side and allies have preliminarily confirmed our radar records that the object had left Polish territory," a spokesperson for the operational command told Reuters earlier on Saturday.

Nearly 500 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Force took part in the search near the city of Zamosc in southeastern Poland, the operational command said on X.

On Friday evening, Poland's foreign ministry summoned the Russian charge d'affaires, demanding an explanation for the violation of its airspace.