A Russian Armed Forces Mi-8 helicopter violated Polish airspace north of Braniewo, near the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast, on September 23, 2026, according to Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command (DORSZ).
In a statement published on X, DORSZ said the incursion occurred at 11:08 local time. The helicopter, flying from Kaliningrad Oblast, entered Polish airspace to a maximum depth of about 300 meters (roughly 1,000 feet) and remained there for 42 seconds.
Polish military radar systems tracked the helicopter’s flight, DORSZ said. Fighter aircraft were scrambled and ground-based air defense forces were held at readiness.
The command did not identify the fighter type or say whether the jets reached the area before the helicopter left Polish airspace.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defense,” DORSZ said, without detailing what supported that assessment.
Previous Russian airspace violations near Kaliningrad
Brief violations originating from the Russian exclave have occurred before.
On February 11, 2025, a Russian Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft entered Polish airspace over the Gulf of Gdańsk to a depth of 6.5 kilometers (about four miles) for one minute and 12 seconds. Moscow attributed that incident to a navigation system failure.
On October 23, 2025, a Russian Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 tanker crossed about 700 meters (roughly 2,300 feet) into Lithuanian airspace near Kybartai, on the Kaliningrad border, for 18 seconds.
Helicopters have also been at the center of earlier border disputes. In August 2023, Poland said a Belarusian Mi-24 and Mi-8 had crossed into its airspace in the Białowieża region, a claim Minsk denied.
Poland requested consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty after Russian drones entered its airspace on the night of September 9 to 10, 2025, during strikes on Ukraine. Later that month, Polish officials warned they were prepared to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate NATO airspace.