Poland said on Thursday it had detected heightened activity of small drones near its border with Belarus on Wednesday evening.
– The violation saw the summoning of the Belarusian envoy in Warsaw on Wednesday.
– Relations between Minsk and Warsaw have sunk to new lows since Belarus’s ally Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with disputes over illegal migration and smuggling raising tensions created by the war even further.
– “On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in the evening hours, increased activity of small-sized unmanned aerial vehicles operating over the Polish Belarusian border was observed.”
– No threat to the safety of Polish airspace was detected.
– This type of incident fits into hybrid actions undertaken by the Belarusian side, aimed at destabilizing the security situation and testing (Poland’s) airspace defense system.
– In Lithuania, smuggling balloons drifting over the Belarusian border have forced repeated shutdowns at the airport in the capital Vilnius, in what authorities call a “hybrid attack” by Belarus.
– In December Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to the incursions.