Belarusian Mi-24 and Mi-8 military helicopters crossed Polish airspace, violated the state border, flew 3 kilometres and flew home

A pair of helicopters of the Belarusian Air Force violated the airspace of Poland. Warsaw initially concealed it, but later the Ministry of National Defence confirmed the fact of crossing the state border.

Here's What We Know

Belarusian military helicopters Mi-8 and Mi-24 violated the airspace of Poland during the exercise. According to the Ministry of National Defence, Belarus had previously notified Poland about the flights near the state border.

In the morning on 1 August, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces stated that Polish radar systems failed to detect violations of the country's airspace. As it became known later, the radars did not see the Mi-24 and Mi-8 because they were flying at low altitude. The helicopters flew about 3 kilometres. Then they returned back to Belarus.

The crossing of the state border was recorded near the town of Białowieży. In response to the actions of the Belarusian aviation, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak ordered to increase the number of troops on the border and deploy additional countermeasures.

Source: GOV PL