Braniewo helicopter, Sep 23, 2026 - jets scrambled

A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter crossed briefly into Polish airspace north of Braniewo, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, at 11:08 local time on September 23, 2026, Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces said.

The helicopter flew in from Kaliningrad and turned back on its own

Poland's Operational Command said in a statement that the Mi-8 approached from Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, crossed into Polish airspace to a maximum depth of about 300 meters, and remained there for 42 seconds. The helicopter turned back to Kaliningrad on its own, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski told TVN24. Polish radar tracked the aircraft, and the military scrambled fighter jets and put ground forces on standby in response.

Poland's Maritime Branch of the Border Guard separately confirmed the crossing. It described a steel-colored helicopter flying in from Russia's direction and said its own units patrolled the maritime border along the Vistula Lagoon during the incident.

Braniewo's mayor, Tomasz Sielicki, told TVN24 he received a service SMS at 11:30, 22 minutes after the crossing time, saying Polish airspace had been violated by a Russian helicopter in the Vistula Lagoon area. Defence24 reports the Operational Command posted its statement on X after 13:30, more than 2 hours 22 minutes after the crossing. The mayor said the message contained no recommendations for residents, and that officials remained in constant contact with him as they monitored the situation.

Operational Command called it a test of Poland's air defenses

"The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defense," Goryszewski said on TVN24. Russian forces were conducting training exercises in the area that day, and Polish units had been observing the activity and stood ready to react. "We are constantly monitoring the airspace, whether near the Kaliningrad Oblast or the border with Ukraine," he added.

Notes From Poland calls it the first reported Russian helicopter crossing onto Polish soil

Notes From Poland reported two prior instances of Russian crewed aircraft over Polish waters that did not cross onto Polish territory: a Su-24 bomber and a Russian naval helicopter, both over the Baltic Sea last year.

Separately, in 2023, two Belarusian military helicopters briefly entered Polish airspace before recrossing the border.

Notes From Poland says the incident appears to be the first publicly reported instance of a Russian military helicopter crossing Poland's land border. No source gives the crossing point, and the mayor's SMS referred to the Vistula Lagoon area, so AirVeto cannot confirm whether the crossing was over land or water.

The incident follows a pattern AirVeto has tracked through 2026: repeated Polish fighter scrambles against Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea, including a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft intercepted north of Ustka on September 3.

The day before this incident, on September 22, Poland intercepted another Il-20 about 40 kilometers off its coast, and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Russia is testing NATO's eastern flank. Interceptions of Russian aircraft along that flank have increased by more than 250 percent, Operational Command said.

Wind over the Braniewo border area

Around 11:00 local time on September 23, within the incursion window, the 500 m layer over the Braniewo border area showed wind from the NNW at 34.7 km/h. At 2,000 m the wind also came from the NNW, at 36.4 km/h. At 3,000 m it came from the N, at 34.2 km/h. The helicopter crossed under power rather than drifting, so these figures describe the atmospheric conditions during the incursion, not its flight path.

This reconstruction is based on reporting by TVN24, Defence24, Notes From Poland, and Euronews, and on AirVeto's wind-model data for the event window. AirVeto's model and its documented limits are on the methodology page.

The full archive of military airspace incidents and intercepts over Polish territory is at Dron nad Polską.