Russian missile over Polish territory. Gen. Polko: the border with Ukraine should be strengthened with NATO systems

"Much better communication and the presentation of reliable information, not only by politicians but also by the military, have allowed us to “defuse this missile”, said General Roman Polko in an interview with PolskieRadio24.pl. He added that “while the Polish systems are being built, the border with Ukraine should be strongly strengthened with NATO systems”.

General Roman Polko explained that, after the press conference with the participation of, among others, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, which took place after a meeting at the National Security Bureau, we now know that a cruise missile entered Polish territory. It was probably launched by Russian aircraft.

"Due to the fact that Ukrainians are quite reserved when it comes to using anti-aircraft weapons near the border with Poland, the missile stayed on our territory for about three minutes and then left. This clearly shows that Russia is attacking in a barbaric but also provocative way"
he said.

The former GROM commander also explained that "after Przewodów, or after the missile that was searched for half a year, we learned a little."

"There is much better communication and reliable information presented not only by politicians but also by the military. This, in fact, allowed us to "defuse this missile", he noted.

"What was the biggest problem in previous incidents was poor communication"
he added.

Shooting down a missile

Regarding shooting down a missile, when asked whether the object should not be shot down by our systems after it was spotted by radars, he stated that "anti-missile systems are used when the missile has been identified and when it poses a threat to security."

"I think it could have flown over an area where there were no important critical infrastructure facilities, human settlements, or villages. There was probably no need for that," he said.

But the conclusion is certainly such, he continued, that "if incidents of this type recur, the concentration of ground radar stations that detect this type of missile that may briefly cross our territory, as well as the systems and means to combat them, should be increased."

Expanding air defense systems, he said, "Here the reaction time was very short, but at the border, you have to make difficult decisions in a short time." Therefore, according to the general, powers in the military structure should be delegated lower. "Any consultations at such a moment take time that allows for a reaction in the form of shooting down this type of missile," he said.

When asked whether this was another signal for us to continue expanding air defense systems, he said "this system is certainly already being expanded". "From the Wisla systems — including mainly ballistic, medium and long-range missiles — to the short-range Pilica systems" - he enumerated.

"However, during the construction of Polish systems, the border with Ukraine should be strongly strengthened with NATO systems"
General Roman Polko said.