Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Monday that security officers had "neutralized" a drone over government buildings in central Warsaw, and two Belarusian citizens had been detained. The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions following recent airspace violations.
“A moment ago, the Government Security Service neutralized a drone operating over government buildings (Parkowa Street) and Belweder,” Tusk posted on the X platform. The Belweder Palace is one of the Polish president’s official residences, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
“Two citizens of Belarus have been arrested,” Tusk added. “Police are investigating.” He did not give further details.
The incident comes with Poland on alert after a wave of Russian drones entered Polish airspace during an unprecedented large-scale incursion last Wednesday.
Those violations saw Western jets downing Russian targets for the first time during the conflict in Ukraine and stoked fresh fears in a region that has been on edge since Moscow unleashed its war in 2022.
Tusk warned at the time that the violations were “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.”
Parkowa Street in the Polish capital, the site of Wednesday’s incident, lies in a district that houses government buildings, the Belweder Palace and foreign embassies. The Russian embassy is also nearby.
The area is designated a no-fly zone for drones unless operators secure a permit, and violations are punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Warsaw City Hall's official website.
A deputy interior minister said the incident showed that the Government Security Service and the Interior Ministry were working to secure the country’s most important government premises.
“This shows that Poland is safe,” Wiesław Szczepański said on Polsat News, a private TV channel.
