Poland launches Baltic air patrols in response to Russian provocations

Poland has launched a new military operation to enhance security in the Baltic Sea region in response to numerous provocations by Russian military aviation, the Polish defense minister has announced.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the threats affected all Poland’s allies in the Baltic region.

"This is a response to the threats we're dealing with, in particular incidents involving us or our allies—the countries of Northern and Baltic Europe," he said.

In late April, a Russian military helicopter breached Polish airspace over the Baltic in what was seen as a test of the country’s defense preparedness. The violation was the latest in a spate of incidents involving Russian aircraft over the Baltic.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said the operation, which commenced last week, involved the deployment of additional planes and helicopters to the region.

Poland’s state-run news agency, PAP, cited defense ministry insiders as saying the operation involved redeploying aircraft from other parts of Poland to the Baltic and the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

“We are ready and so mobilized and organized that in a very short period we will be able to launch a patrol and deterrence mission,” the defense minister said.

The readiness operation and potential sorties are in addition to NATO’s ongoing Baltic Air Policing mission, which involves allied aircraft securing the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

The chief of Poland’s general staff, Gen. Karol Dymanowski, told journalists the operation’s purpose was to “protect in the future against various types of incidents, such as have already unfortunately occurred.”

“This mission is tasked with strengthening air defense, shortening reaction time, and even better supervision of this space by our and allies’ forces,” he said.