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Belarus says Polish helicopter breached airspace

Belarus strongman orders 'contact' with Poland amid border tensions
Source: Video Screenshot

Belarus said a Polish helicopter on Thursday violated its airspace as tensions rage between the two countries amid the conflict in Ukraine.

“At about 15:20 (1220 GMT), an aircraft crossed the border of the Republic of Belarus,” the defence ministry said, adding that the helicopter flew up to 1.5 kilometres inside Belarus’ airspace.

“At 16:22 (1322 GMT) the helicopter again violated the state border,” the statement said.

The defence ministry said it scrambled aircraft but provided no further details.

Belarus has repeatedly accused the EU member of breaching its airspace. Warsaw denies the claims.

Relations between Minsk and Warsaw, frozen for years, have hit new lows since Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use his country to attack Ukraine.

Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022 and is one of Kyiv’s main weapons suppliers.

Last week the Kremlin said that both Moscow and its ally Belarus were “watching” Poland closely, calling it a “rather aggressive” country.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.







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