Poland said its air defense forces intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane near Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea.
Meanwhile, the radar system also detected objects entering from Belarus overnight.
According to the Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Poland (DORSZ), fighter planes intercepted Russian military aircraft on Thursday morning, identified them and took them away from their area of responsibility.
The plane was flying in international waters close to Polish airspace, the command said. DORSZ said air defense services remained on duty despite the holiday season.
Objects entering airspace from Belarus detected
DORSZ said that during the night, radar systems spotted several objects entering Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.
After further analysis, the objects were evaluated as smuggled balloons moving in line with the direction and speed of the wind.
According to the command, their flight was constantly monitored by Polish radar systems.
As a security measure, part of the airspace over Poland’s northeastern Podlaskie region, which borders Belarus, was temporarily closed to civil air traffic.
Polish officials said the situation was being monitored and air defense units were on constant alert.
Edited by: Farah Bhagat