Poll in Poland shows willingness to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory

3 February, 2024 Elements of the Wisla system of Poland. October 2022. Poland.

Frame from the video of the Ministry of National Defence of Poland Almost two-thirds of Polish citizens believe that their country should start negotiations with Ukraine and NATO to shoot down Russian missiles. This is evidenced by the results of the IBRiS poll commissioned by the Polish edition Rzeczpospolita.

Poles believe that Warsaw should initiate talks with NATO and Ukraine on expanding air defense to the Ukrainian border. Some Polish experts and former Polish army officers started talking about creating a joint air defense zone when a Russian missile crossed the border, flew over Polish territory, and returned to Ukraine in late December. According to the poll, 69.3% of Poles are in favor of starting the relevant negotiations, 17.6% are against, and 13.1% are undecided.

The launch and transportation vehicle of the Wisla system.

Photo credits: Huta Stalowa Wola SA

The most supportive of this idea are Polish citizens aged 30-39, residents of large cities who follow political events. The former head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Gen. Stanislaw Koziej, told Rzeczpospolita that he hoped that the creation of a joint air defense zone would force NATO to act more decisively against Russia.

The Polish Ministry of National Defence called the inclusion of part of Ukraine in NATO's air defense system "a very complex issue." "On the one hand, this would probably require difficult political arrangements within NATO. This would involve a number of legal and international challenges, especially consequences of intercepting objects in Ukrainian airspace.

On the other hand, it would bring with it a number of military-operational challenges," the Ministry of National Defence added.

Illustrative photo of a Patriot missile launch. Photo credits: fakty.com.ua

On December 29, the Polish General Staff announced that a Russian missile had violated the country's airspace. The Polish military found out that the missile flew 40 kilometers into Poland and returned to Ukrainian airspace three minutes later.

After the incident, Russia's Charge d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland for explanations.