Poland Closes Its Airspace on Belarusian Border Due to Suspicious Objects
On Wednesday night, 28 January, the Polish military partially closed its airspace near the border with Belarus due to suspicious objects detected in the sky by the Polish Armed Forces’ radar systems.
According to the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command, several aerial objects approached the border from the Belarusian side and entered Polish airspace during the night.
«The flight of all objects was continuously monitored by the military radar systems of the Polish Armed Forces. To ensure safety, temporary restrictions on the use of part of the airspace over the Podlaskie Voivodeship for civil transport were introduced. These measures were preventive in nature,» reported the Polish military, emphasising that they did not perceive a threat to the country’s airspace security from the suspicious objects.
Having analysed the flight characteristics, speed, and direction of the objects, the Polish military concluded that the objects were «likely weather balloons». Such balloons are often used by smugglers to transport illegal goods across the border. However, Polish law enforcement agencies have not yet reported finding any contraband or the remains of downed balloons in the border area.
A similar incident occurred a week and a half ago. At that time, the Polish Border Guard reported that dozens of ‘objects’ had flown into their country from Belarusian territory over the weekend. Subsequently, they managed to locate up to 10 balloons that had fallen to the ground, laden with contraband cigarettes.
Just the night before, smugglers’ balloons had led to the closure of Vilnius Airport in neighbouring Lithuania. It was the first such incident since the beginning of 2026. This prompted the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Belarusian embassy and present a diplomatic note conveying a «firm protest».
Вильнюсский аэропорт закрыли из-за воздушных шаров впервые с начала года