Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 15 September that the State Protection Service neutralized a drone flying above Warsaw’s government quarter. The incident ended with the detention of two Belarusian citizens, and police are now investigating.

Tusk wrote:

“A short while ago, the State Protection Service neutralized a drone operating over government buildings (Parkowa) and Belweder. Two Belarusian citizens were detained. The police are investigating the circumstances of the incident.”

Drone spotted over presidential residence

Associated Press reported that the aircraft was detected near Belweder Castle, the official residence of Poland’s president. Colonel Boguslaw Piorkowski of the State Protection Service confirmed that two of his personnel stationed at Belweder spotted the drone above the compound and acted quickly. The operators were detained shortly afterward.

Piorkowski told AP that the device was not shot down but landed once the suspected operators were apprehended. The exact type of drone and the means of neutralization have not been disclosed.

Officials warn against hasty conclusions

Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Poland’s minister of development funds and regional policy, told TVN 24 that “the impression is that this is not something that flew in” from abroad but rather launched within Poland. She urged against rushing to conclusions or connecting the incident to Russian drone incursions that took place last week.

Rising tensions after Russian drone incursions and Belarusian spy activity in Poland

Militarnyi noted that on 9 September, Polish authorities detained a Belarusian agent and decided to expel a Belarusian diplomat who supported hostile activities against Poland. That arrest was part of a wider operation with Romanian and Czech services targeting a Belarusian intelligence network active in Europe. The outlet noted that it is possible agents linked to that network were also involved in launching the Warsaw drone.