Poland detains Belarusian and Ukranian citizens over drone incident in Warsaw

Authorities in Poland said the two people detained on suspicion of flying a drone over government buildings in Warsaw on Monday night were Belarusian and Ukrainian citizens.

The drone — which was seen flying over the Belvedere presidential palace in the capital Warsaw — was neutralised by the Polish State Protection Services.

The two suspects are a 21-year-old Ukrainian man and a 17-year-old Belarusian woman, according to authorities. Their homes are being searched by investigators and police are verifying their identities and whether they have permission to reside in Poland legally.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had initially written on X on Monday night that "two Belarusian citizens" were detained.

It is unclear whether or why the initial information was incorrect, but the State Protection Services said that police interrogated the suspects overnight.

"We deny rumours that this is a massive espionage action," Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for the minister coordinating special services, said in a press briefing on Tuesday morning.

"These are young people, perhaps it was due to carelessness, perhaps ignorance, perhaps because they wanted to make a film," he added.

Poland is on high alert after multiple Russian drones crossed into the country last week in what European officials described as a deliberate provocation.

The incursion — which came during unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine and involved multiple Tehran-designed and Russian-made Shahed-type drones — deepened longstanding fears that Moscow's more than three-year war in Ukraine could precipitate a wider conflict. NATO sent fighter jets to shoot down the drones.