Poland is to begin sending citizens SMS alerts when its air force scrambles fighter jets during attacks on Ukraine, Warsaw's deputy defence minister said on Monday, in a move drawn from the lessons of a missile crash in late July.
Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told the Wirtualna Polska (Virtual Poland) news website that the measure was a consequence of the incident on July 30, when an initially unidentified flying object entered Polish airspace during heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine and crashed near the city of Lublin.
According to the Polish government, the object was a Russian Ch-101 cruise missile. No one was injured.
Residents in the affected region subsequently complained that they were inadequately informed about the danger.
Sirens sounded in the city of Lublin and neighbouring districts, but residents were unaware of the nature of the threat.
Poland's army high command has so far used the platform X to announce when NATO fighter jets scramble in response to air attacks on Ukraine.
The jets are tasked with monitoring projectiles approaching Polish airspace in order to potentially intercept them if they cross the border. News of the missile's incursion into Polish airspace was also initially spread via X.
In future, such information will additionally be sent by SMS from the Centre for National Security (RCB), which until now has been responsible primarily for severe weather warnings.
Poland's Defence Ministry is also developing an air raid warning app modelled on Ukraine's system.