The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) covering a vast tract of airspace in the east of the country, along its border with Belarus and extending all the way to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, on the Baltic coast.
The warning, which was posted on February 2, 2024, on PANSA’s website, is valid for the period from February 5 (06.00 UTC) to May 5, 2024 (06.00 UTC) and it is due to concerns about an increasingly threatening security situation in the east of the country.
NOTAM N0608/2024 states that “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security can be expected within the area”.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to an aggravation of long-simmering tensions between the West and Russia and its ally Belarus. This has resulted in an increased level of alert along NATO’s eastern flank.
A number of incidents have taken place in Polish airspace over the last two years in connection with the war in Ukraine. The most recent, which took place in December 2023, saw a Russian missile enter Polish airspace on its way towards attacking a target in Ukraine.
The NOTAM adds to several warnings issued in recent weeks by several NATO countries, including the German, Swedish and Danish militaries, regarding an increasing probability that Russia may attempt to probe the alliance’s defenses.