Russia Deliberately Fired Kh-101 Into Poland to Test NATO’s Red Lines, Ukraine’s Intelligence Chief Says

Ukraine’s military intelligence believes that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that struck Poland on July 30 was deliberately directed into NATO territory as part of Moscow’s effort to test the Alliance’s response to a potential armed attack.

According to an interview with Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko published by Ukrinform on September 7.

“The trajectory of the missile differed from the trajectory of the group of missiles launched at Ukrainian territory from the very beginning of its flight, which indicates the deliberate nature of the actions,” Ivashchenko said.

He said Ukrainian intelligence possesses materials indicating broader aggressive intentions by Russia toward Europe and assessed the July incident as an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s “red lines” regarding collective defense in the event of an armed attack against an Alliance member.

Ivashchenko said Russia has been unable to achieve its objectives in its war against Ukraine and is therefore considering escalating its confrontation with countries on NATO’s eastern flank in an effort to pressure European governments into reducing military support for Kyiv.

Ukraine’s military intelligence is tracking Russian violations of NATO members’ airspace, including Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, as well as military provocations near NATO borders, sabotage against European critical infrastructure, false-flag operations, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

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War in Ukraine

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Ivashchenko warned that Russia is expected to further increase pressure on NATO’s eastern flank to test the response of Alliance members and portray them as unwilling to enter into an open confrontation with Moscow.

According to him, such actions are also intended to increase psychological pressure on European countries and ultimately undermine their military assistance to Ukraine.

Earlier, Poland announced it would temporarily restrict air traffic along its eastern border from September 10 to December 9 to give its air defense systems greater freedom to respond to potential Russian threats.

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