Russian drone on the Polish coast

The Ministry of National Defence reported finding and recovering a Russian drone near Rusinowo, approximately 40 km from Słupsk. „Preliminary inspections indicate that it is a military unmanned aerial vehicle originating from Russia,” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, wrote on X. As he stated, „on-site services are carrying out activities related to securing the scene and the recovered equipment.” The object was detected near the beach.

There have been previous instances of Russian aerial drones violating Polish airspace. „This is near the Air Force training ground in Wicko Morskie. According to preliminary information, the drone found is a Russian Gerbera,” wrote Mariusz Marszałkowski, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Defence24, on X. This information was confirmed on Polsat News by Lt Col Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Armed Forces Operational Command.

Following a drone strike on a locomotive near the Polish-Ukrainian border, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk underlined that we are currently talking about a new level in the escalation of Russia’s actions. When asked what lies at the „top” of Russia’s escalation ladder—in an imaginable scenario or one that the CIA warns Poland about—the Deputy Defence Minister said that „there is no hard war scenario today” in the sense implied by the question. „Today we are talking about a further step on this escalation ladder, which could be something in between—various types of sabotage, but of a kind that Europe has not faced until now,” said Tomczyk.