Key facts
- A Russian drone found off Poland's coast on Monday was carrying a warhead with a detonator, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
- The drone contained a "high-explosive fragmentation warhead fitted with a fuze," according to Colonel Bartosz Okoniewski, deputy regional prosecutor for military affairs in Poznań.
- Investigators have not officially established where or when the drone was launched or how it entered Polish waters.
- The most likely explanation is that the drone drifted from international waters into Poland's territorial waters, according to Lt Col Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Operational Command.
- The incident follows other recent escalations, including NATO jets shooting down a drone in Lithuanian airspace and a Russian frigate firing flares at a Danish military helicopter.
A Russian drone discovered in the Baltic Sea near Poland's northwestern coast on Monday was equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead and a detonator, military prosecutors announced Wednesday. The drone, identified as a Russian Gerbera 2, was located near the beach in Rusinowo and subsequently neutralized and moved for further examination.
Colonel Bartosz Okoniewski, deputy regional prosecutor for military affairs in Poznań, stated in a televised briefing that the warhead was fitted with a fuze. Investigators are still working to determine the drone's exact launch point, time, and mission. Lt Col Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Operational Command, suggested the most probable scenario is that the drone drifted into Polish territorial waters from international airspace.
The discovery comes amid a period of heightened tensions between Russia and European nations. On Tuesday, NATO fighter jets intercepted and shot down a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace. Separately, a Russian frigate reportedly fired flares at a Danish military helicopter. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously warned of an impending period of "very intense Russian activity" and noted that the escalation of Russian actions was increasingly occurring closer to Poland's border.