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Russian Military Helicopter Breaches Polish Airspace, Testing NATO’s Defenses

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Ivan_khomenko
Ivan Khomenko
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Russian Military Helicopter Breaches Polish Airspace, Testing NATO’s Defenses
A Russian Mi-17 helicopter flies over a joint Turkish-Russian patrol near Darbasiyah, Syria, on April 22, 2020. Illustrative photo. (Source: Getty Images)

A Russian military helicopter from the Baltic Fleet violated Polish airspace over territorial waters of the Baltic Sea on the evening of April 25, according to a statement by Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces.

The helicopter’s flight was tracked by military radar systems of the Polish Armed Forces as well as by civilian air traffic control systems. In response to the violation, Poland’s air defense forces were placed on high alert to safeguard national airspace.

According to the Operational Command, the incident may indicate that Russia is testing the readiness of Polish air defense systems against potential threats. The helicopter involved was identified as part of Russia’s Baltic Fleet.

The Polish military emphasized that this is not the first such incident involving Russian aviation. On February 11, 2025, a Russian Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft entered Polish airspace over the eastern part of the Gulf of Gdańsk.

The aircraft, originating from the Kaliningrad region, crossed into Polish airspace at 14:09 local time, penetrated 6.5 kilometers deep, and remained there for approximately 72 seconds. At the time, Russian authorities attributed the violation to a “navigation system failure.”

Beyond direct airspace violations, Russian military aircraft have also conducted flights in the air defense identification zones (ADIZ) of several countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden.

The Polish Armed Forces reiterated that the nature of the recent helicopter incident suggests a deliberate action aimed at assessing Poland’s air defense posture.

Earlier, British Typhoon jets deployed under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission were scrambled three times over the past week to intercept Russian aircraft, including an Il-20M intelligence plane and Su-30MKI fighters, according to the Royal Air Force.

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