Paweł Jabłoński, deputy foreign minister the claim had to be approached with caution
Radek Pietruszka/PAP

Warsaw will analyse Belarusian accusations that a Polish MI-24 military helicopter crossed the border between the two countries, a Polish deputy foreign minister said on Friday.

Pawel Jablonski cautioned that the claim had to be approached with caution as the Belarusian security and border-control services “are a direct extension of the Lukashenko regime.”

Jablonski went on to explain that “what (the Belarusian security services – PAP) say is not usually based on the truth, and they are intended to achieve political aims,” adding that such aims were usually hostile to Poland.

The Reuters and AFP news agencies reported on Friday evening, citing the Belarusian Border Guard, that a Polish MI-24 helicopter gunship crossed the Belarusian border, flying to a distance of 1.2 kilometres inside Belarusian territory before returning to Poland.