Crashed Russian Cruise Missile Found In Poland Raises Questions
Recently, a Russian Kh-55 subsonic air-launched cruise missile, was found near the town of Bydgoszcz, Poland. This marks a second incident related to the Russian-Ukrainian War when a foreign projectile has landed on Polish soil. Last November, an S-300 missile hit a barn in Eastern Poland killing two civilians. However, this time, the presence of the ordnance went unnoticed, as it was supposedly launched back in December 2022.
According to the Polish Ministry of Defense, on the 16 December, the Center for Flying Operations was informed by the Ukrainians about a flying object moving towards Polish air space. In response to this potential threat fighter jets were scrambled in order to intercept this object.
Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence of Poland, pointed out that the chief of the Operations Command did not inform the MoD, Government’s Security Agency, and other services about the incident. Blaszczak also noted that the search for the object ceased by the 19 December and was not renewed. It was only 4 months later on the 26 April, that the President was informed that a missile of Russian origin had been found in the forest near Bydgoszcz.
Information regarding the incident spread quickly, raising concerns over the capabilities of Poland’s air defense system, national security, and the competence of the Polish Armed Forces. However, the storm grew around of the chief of Operations Command, General Tomasz Piotrowski, who was directly blamed by Blaszczak for not fulfilling his duties in reporting the incident to his superiors. In a personal statement, Piotrowski urged the public to remain united and not fall victim to media gossip regarding the situation.
The Bureau of National Security (BBN) issued a statement regarding the latest comments from the MoD. According to the information, there were no submissions regarding potential changes within the army staff issued. They also noted that there are no grounds for the President to conduct such changes in any posts within the command structure at this moment.