Drone in Warsaw belonged to a Ukrainian, not a Belarusian.
After all, the operator of the drone that flew over the Belweder presidential palace and several government buildings in Warsaw earlier this week is a 21-year-old Ukrainian citizen, Polish authorities announced this Tuesday, contradicting Prime Minister Donald Tusk's assertion that "two Belarusians" had been detained. In fact, a 17-year-old Belarusian girl, a friend of the pilot, was detained and treated as a witness. The young Ukrainian will now pay a fine and be deported from Poland.
The information was revealed by Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the coordinating minister of intelligence services. The incident, which occurred just days after several Russian drones entered Polish territory, has put security authorities on "high alert," according to Polish public television TVP World.
"State Protection Service agents acted with great vigilance and speed, identifying the individuals operating the drone. They were a young Belarusian woman and her Ukrainian friend, both in their twenties," the spokesperson later explained, adding that the service detained the individuals and then handed them over to the police.
According to TVP World, authorities charged the young Ukrainian with violating Polish aviation law by operating a drone in an unauthorized no-fly zone . The young man reportedly confessed to piloting the drone and accepted a plea deal, requiring him to pay a fine of 940 euros, the television station explains.
Prosecutors have also instructed border guards to begin deportation proceedings, which also entail a five-year ban on re-entry into Poland and the entire Schengen Area, the television station reported.
Jacek Dobrzyński, speaking to TVN24, denied "rumors that this was a mass espionage operation." "At this stage, no one can say for sure," he continued.
"They're young, maybe it was recklessness, maybe ignorance, maybe because they wanted to make a film here in Łazienki Park," he added. The park is near the presidential palace and the government buildings, and the spokesperson explained that the two detainees were found there and that "it was from there that the drone was launched."
Polish media outlet Onet reported that the Polish Internal Security Agency had analyzed the content of the detainees' cell phones , finding no evidence of any connection to espionage. Meanwhile, Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office spokesman Piotr Antoni Skiba, quoted by Polish news agency PAP , confirmed that authorities were investigating the case as "a breach of aviation law, not espionage."
observador
