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A female Belarusian teen and a Ukrainian man were arrested Tuesday after allegedly flying a drone over Poland’s presidential palace and government buildings, prompting a scare at a time of high alert.
Police State Protection Services were called into action Monday night after a drone was seen soaring over the Belvedere presidential palace in Warsaw, just a week after Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace.
Police interrogated the 21-year-old Ukrainian man and a 17-year-old female Belarusian teen, with the office of the Minister Coordinating Special Services denying rumors that the incident amounted to a “massive espionage action.”
“These are young people, perhaps it was due to carelessness, perhaps ignorance, perhaps because they wanted to make a film,” spokesperson Jacek Dobrzyński told reporters.
He said the investigation was ongoing as Polish authorities work to uncover the motive behind Monday night’s incident.
Warsaw police said the drone used in the operation has been seized, with Piotr Antoni Skiba, of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, noting that the facts, so far, don’t point to an international incident, local TVN24 reported.
“At this stage, the evidence and the circumstances of the incident support a violation of aviation law, not the commission of a crime of espionage,” Skiba said.
No further information regarding the suspects or the drone they used has been revealed as of Tuesday afternoon.
The suspects in Monday’s case face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison for illegally flying an aircraft over Warsaw’s government buildings.
The incident comes as Poland remains in high alert following last Wednesday’s incursion, where 19 Russian projectiles entered Warsaw’s airspace, triggering NATO to scramble its jets to shoot down the drones.
While a majority of the drones were shot down or crashed near the border with Ukraine, at least two drones were recovered more than 100 miles from the eastern border.
With Post wires
