President Doesn't See Case For Dismissing Military Commanders Over Missile Incident

President Andrzej Duda's top national security aide said that the information received by the head of state about the incident involving a Russian missile found near the city of Bydgoszcz does not justify taking any action against Polish military commanders.

• Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak accused top officers of failing to report an incursion by a Russian cruise missile in December and said that he will speak with the President about taking disciplinary action.
• Both commanders denied the accusations and called for prudence in handling the situation. Chief of the General Staff Rajmund Andrzejczak said that he informed his superiors about the incident "when it happened."
• Sources from NATO headquarters in Brussels told an RMF FM reporter that the bloc certainly knew about the violation of Polish airspace in December and probably has a record of the incident, as it operates an integrated air defence system.
• One source told the radio station that in NATO countries incidents such as a fall of a foreign missile are reported to civilian authorities "within minutes," adding that "if [in this case] it happened after 24 hours, it would be a problem."
• An earlier Onet report suggested that the decision to scale down the reaction to the incident was taken "at the political level," with the ruling party concerned about the public reception of a failure to intercept the missile.
• It is worth noting that the unarmed projectile landed near the city of Bydgoszcz, which houses chemical plants and a military aviation maintenance centre. Both are of strategic importance for the Polish military industry.