Maj. Witold Sura, a spokesman for the Territorial Defence Force, said on Sunday evening: “We haven’t found the object. The search continued until dusk and then the soldiers returned to the barracks.”
He added: “Further decisions will be made on Monday morning."
Unidentified 'object’ enters Polish airspace from Belarus
The Polish defence ministry announced on Saturday morning that an unidentified "object" had entered Polish airspace "from the direction of Belarus."
It added in a tweet that the object was probably an "observation balloon."
Capt. Ewa Złotnicka, press officer for the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command, told private broadcaster TVN 24 that the object entered Polish airspace on Friday evening.
The defence ministry said radar contact with the object was lost near the north-central town of Rypin at around 1 a.m. on Saturday, the PAP news agency reported.
A search operation involving some 100 Territorial Defence Force soldiers continued throughout the weekend, according to officials.
The Polish government sent a text message alert to residents in the northern regions of Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Pomorskie and Zachodniopomorskie, announcing that a search for “an air object resembling a balloon” was under way.
It urged members of the public “not to touch” the object and “notify the nearest police station” if they find it, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
In November, two Poles died after they were hit by what Warsaw concluded was a misfired Ukrainian air defence missile, the Reuters news agency reported.
In April, the remains of a missile were discovered in northern Poland.
Parts of balloon found at private property?
Private broadcaster RMF FM reported on Sunday that “parts of an object that may resemble the balloon that entered Polish airspace from Belarus” were found in northwestern Poland.
The remains were found at a private property near the city of Szczecinek, RMF FM said, citing unofficial information.
Monday is day 446 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, rmf24.pl, Reuters