In The Aftermath Of Russian Drones, Poland Restricts Belarus-Ukraine Border Air Traffic

UNSPLASH/Artem Lobastov ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Poland has imposed air traffic restrictions along its eastern border with Belarus and Ukraine.

Policy comes amid rising tensions a day after several drone attacks into the airspace of the NATO member country.

Poland shot down a drone that allegedly belonged to Russia in its airspace on Wednesday morning with the support of a plane from its NATO allies.

This is the first time the member of the Western military alliance has been known to have opened fire during the Russian war in Ukraine.

At the request of the Operational Command of the Armed Forces Branches, air traffic restrictions will be imposed in eastern Poland in the form of an EP-forbidden zone of R129," the Polish Air Navigation Agency said in a statement published Wednesday, September 10 evening.

The restrictions take effect at 22.00 GMT on Wednesday and are valid until December 9.

Flights in the restricted zone are prohibited from sunrise to sunset, unless the manned aircraft operating are in accordance with flight plans with appropriate circumstances and maintain two-way communication with the aviation authority, the agency said in a statement.

The restrictions also exclude military flights and several special destination flights as well as additional call signs.

"From sunset to sunrise, there is a total ban on flights, except for military aircraft. In the EP zone R129, there is a 24-hour flight ban for civilian drones," the agency said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday its drone carried out a massive offensive against military facilities in western Ukraine, but had no plans to strike any targets in Poland.