WARSAW, Poland — Poland's government said that two Belarusian helicopters entered Poland's airspace on Tuesday, an incident that comes amid rising tensions along the NATO member's border with the Russian ally.
Warsaw authorities said would increase Poland's military presence along the border in response, and that they had summoned Belarus' top diplomat in Warsaw in protest.
NATO was also informed of the incident, the Defense Ministry said.
Anxieties have grown in Poland and in neighboring Lithuania after mercenaries from the Russia-linked Wagner group arrived in Belarus following their short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in June.
Poland and Lithuania belong to both the European Union and NATO, and have worried about their security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.
For two years, large numbers of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa have been attempting to enter Poland and Lithuania, which view the migration as an attempt by Moscow-ally Belarus to create instability.
Earlier Tuesday, Polish residents in an area near the border with Belarus reported seeing helicopters with Belarusian insignia which they said flew overhead. Some posted photos of the aircraft. Poland's military initially denied that they had crossed into Polish airspace.
But by evening, the Defense Ministry acknowledged that “there was a violation of Polish airspace by two Belarusian helicopters that were…
