Poland’s government and military are facing questions after it emerged that a missile, reportedly fired by Russia, landed on Polish territory in December last year but was not found until over four months later.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has confirmed that he was not informed about the incident until April this year. The defence minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, yesterday claimed that the operational commander of the armed forces was to blame for not properly fulfilling his duties.
However, the chief of the general staff of the armed forces, has said that he acted properly. Poland’s opposition has blamed Błaszczak for the situation and called for him to be dismissed.
On 27 April, it was announced that military personnel and civilian uniformed services had secured an area in a forest near the city of Bydgoszcz in central Poland where the remains of an airborne military device had been found, reportedly by a member of the public.
Unofficial media reports immediately suggested that the object was a Russian missile. On Wednesday this week, broadcaster RMF reported, based on inside sources, that military experts had confirmed it was a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile.
Reporting by both RMF and Onet, a news website, claimed that the object had entered Polish airspace on 16 December last year, during a large-scale Russian missile barrage against Ukraine.
Onet claimed, based on unnamed high-ranking sources, that, after military helicopters were unable to locate the remains of the rocket, they recommended to Błaszczak that the search be widened. However, the defence minister rejected that request, reportedly because he did not want to alarm local residents and alert the media.
Władza zamiata pod dywan fakt, że na terytorium 🇵🇱 spadł rosyjski pocisk, żeby nie pogorszyć sobie sondaży przed wyborami. Wojsko najprawdopodobniej nie informuje o tym premiera. I niech mnie teraz ktoś spróbuje przekonać, że to nie jest państwo z dykty. https://t.co/A2jKC2SoP9
— Tomasz Grabarczyk (@grabarczyktomek) May 11, 2023
Yesterday, Błaszczak held a press conference at which he confirmed that Polish radar stations had picked up an object entering Poland’s air space on 16 December.
However, the minister said that the operational commander of the armed forces, Tomasz Piotrowski, had “failed to properly fulfil his duties by not informing me about the object that appeared in Polish airspace nor the Government Security Centre and other services provided for in procedures”.
“In the operational report which I received, there was information that on 16 December there was no violation of Polish airspace, which, as it turned out later, was not true,” said Błaszczak, who added that Piotrowski had also failed to launch a sufficient search for the object.
“I strongly deny the information that appeared in the media that I refused to order the search for the object and to send additional soldiers to the site,” said the minister. “Such a request was never made to me.”
Oświadczenie wicepremiera @mblaszczak w sprawie sytuacji w polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej 16 grudnia 2022 roku. Więcej: https://t.co/0ZcwSo8qdh pic.twitter.com/X1fQZ4FjS0
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) May 11, 2023
Onet reports that Błaszczk wants not only Piotrowski to be dismissed over the incident, but also Poland’s top general, Rajmund Andrzejczak, the chief of the general staff of the armed forces.
However, speaking yesterday to RMF, Andrzejczak said that he had “informed his superiors” about the incident in the proper manner and has “nothing to reproach myself for”. But the general refused to comment on when exactly he had informed his superiors.
Twice this week, Prime Minister Morawiecki has confirmed that he “only found out about the incident a few days before the end of April”, notes RMF.
Piotrowski himself has not yet issued any comment. When newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza sought to contact him, it was informed that the general is currently taking part in military maneuvers that are not due to end until 16 May.
— Szymańska-Borginon (@Sz_Borginon) May 10, 2023
Speaking yesterday, Donald Tusk, the leader of Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), called for the dismissal of Błaszczak, whom he said had “put Poland’s security at risk” and was now “running away from responsibility and hiding behind Polish generals”.
However, in an interview today with state broadcaster TVP, Krzysztof Sobolewski, the secretary general of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, called for “great caution in commenting on anything related to the situation”.
He added that more would be known when a detailed report on the incident is completed, which would happen “in the coming days, weeks”.
The chief of staff to President Andrzej Duda, who is commander in chief of the armed forces, told Radio Zet that the president would not make any personnel decisions on military officers until he is fully informed of the situation.
Tusk oczekuje dymisji Błaszczaka. Pięć pytań w sprawie rosyjskiej rakiety https://t.co/ayC8q2EALI
— Onet Wiadomości (@OnetWiadomosci) May 12, 2023
In a separate incident last November, a missile crossed the border from Ukraine and landed in Poland, killing two people.
While initial reports claimed that it was Russian, it was later discovered to have been caused by Ukrainian air defence systems responding to Russia’s mass wave of attacks on Ukraine.
Main image credit: Maciej Kulesza /Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
