As of May 11, officials stated that the head of the Ministry of National Defense was not informed about the missile sighting in Polish airspace on December 16, 2022, nor about any breach of Polish airspace. The defence ministry disputed claims reported by Rzeczpospolita, sending a clear statement via its official channels.
The Ministry of National Defense responds to the reports of Rz
In a post published by the Ministry on X, the account reiterated that the May 11 briefing confirmed the head of the Ministry of National Defense had not been apprised of the December event or of any airspace violation by a foreign missile.
An article in Rzeczpospolita on Thursday alleged that, according to the newspaper’s sources, the operational commander informed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak about the airspace breach. The article claimed the commander alerted the Prime Minister after identifying an unidentified object of unknown origin. The Prime Minister reportedly attempted to return the call from the commander, who at first did not receive an answer, and subsequent communications were noted by the duty service of the Ministry and the Chief of the General Staff.
The report claimed these details existed in the duty service files of the Air Operations Center and in a midday emergency report, with a later detailed report around 2:30 a.m. on December 17. The magazine’s account, the article stated, appeared to have been reviewed by the Supreme Court as part of an ongoing inspection of the Russian missile incident.
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Prosecutions
On April 27, Justice Minister Ziobro announced via social media that prosecutors opened an inquiry concerning the remains of an aerial object found near Bydgoszcz. The Ministry of National Defense later reported that remnants of an unidentified military facility were located near Zamość, about 15 kilometers from Bydgoszcz, with assurances that residents faced no danger.
A day later, General Tomasz Piotrowski, the operational commander, said that extensive investigations and interagency dialogue were underway to determine how the equipment arrived and its origin. The remarks tied the event to mid-December, during a period when Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine. The Prime Minister stated he had instructed Minister Błaszczak to oversee the matter personally.
Two weeks afterward, the defence minister explained that procedures and response mechanisms in the Bydgoszcz case were functioning properly up to the level of the operational commander. He criticized Piotrowski for not informing him or the relevant services about the detected entry of the object into Polish airspace, noting that the December 16 report from COD indicated no breach, a claim later deemed inaccurate. The minister added that personnel decisions would follow consultations with the president.
The National Security Bureau later noted that available information did not justify personnel changes for the top military leadership, and that no formal request had been received by the president. General Piotrowski urged restraint to avoid feeding an adversary or deepening domestic divisions, and to prevent situations that could aid an enemy.
In a contemporaneous statement, the Ministry asserted that the findings of the report submitted to the President and Prime Minister highlighted the responsibility gaps among the Armed Forces Operations Command and aligned with the conclusions of the National Audit Office review recently delivered to the Ministry of National Defence.
wkt/PAP
Source: wPolityce