Russian, and we cannot rule out, unfortunately, that this escalation will also affect our territory. I hope not. I hope that this worst-case scenario does not materialize, but unfortunately, the events so far confirm the information we have been receiving for many months that even the worse variants are possible. I will also want — and here I will ask for information from the services — that we are able to verify one-to-one all the information we receive, especially in alarm mode at night. This is not just a matter of the government security center and passing information to residents, but also very important from the point of view of both the army and the government is that every piece of information that appears in the airspace — and I'm not talking about an incoming missile, because that is the army's job — but information from the Ukrainian, Russian, or any other side, because I would like us to have the full ability to verify and confirm this information so that we do not make any mistake when our urgent reaction is needed.
I spoke just a moment ago with Minister Sikorski. He is returning from Kyiv to Warsaw. I hope he reaches Warsaw safely. We will also think together about how to mobilize our allies. We do not want to fall into any nervous mood, and emotions are least advisable here, but there is no doubt that we must be prepared together with our allies for a joint reaction if such a need arises.
These attacks tonight indicate that the Russians are ready to use more dangerous equipment than before. I am talking about jet drones — their range, their precision are alarming. Of course, Ukraine, which is very well prepared to defend against drones, is also not 100% effective. To put it delicately, Minister Tomczyk informed me that a total of 13 locations on the Ukrainian side were hit. So we must be aware that Russia possesses such capabilities, and that is why I will also be waiting for information on how we are prepared for the possible use of drones to disrupt operations here — whether railway operations or workplaces — because I do not rule out that such situations could also occur. I hope not, but only our preparation being maximal is the best guarantee that no dramatic things will happen.
I will now give the floor to General Bagan. Please give a brief report on the situation at the border crossings with Ukraine, and afterwards General Chojnacki will give a coherent report on what happened during the night from the military's point of view. Please go ahead.
Mr. Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, yesterday from 2:00 p.m. there were successive interruptions in border control at the crossings with Ukraine on the Ukrainian side due to the threat of unmanned aerial vehicle attacks. And practically throughout the day and all night, this traffic was being resumed and suspended. And we, as the Border Guard, naturally adapted to the conditions on the Ukrainian side. So at our border crossings as well, when the Ukrainian side suspended traffic, traffic was suspended; when the Ukrainian side carried out controls, we also carried out controls.
At around 4:10 a.m., a drone struck a gas station about 2 km from the border crossing in Dorohusk. The explosion was so strong that the windows at our checkpoint on our side shook. An evacuation of the border crossing was announced immediately. We had developed these scenarios earlier, so the whole system worked. 25 Border Guard officers and 25 customs and tax administration officers were evacuated from the checkpoint in Dorohusk. The remaining border crossing staff — that is, phytosanitary and veterinary services — totaled about 78 people. In addition, we evacuated more than 280 people from the crossing area outside the crossing zone to minimize any threat to their lives and health. This included five coaches full of passengers, and these coaches were also transported outside the crossing area. As for our personnel, they took shelter in previously designated hiding places, so there was no threat to the lives and health of these people.
At around the same time, we received information that an unidentified object was also heading toward the Hrebenne border crossing, and upon receiving this information, a decision was made to evacuate the crossing. In this case as well, more than 300 people were evacuated — our personnel and personnel of the National Revenue Administration, which was 66 people, plus more than 280 people from the crossing area, regarding travelers. Travelers were evacuated outside the crossing area to minimize as much as possible the effects of a potential drone strike. Our personnel, however, took shelter in previously designated rooms suitable for hiding. And here, after consultation with the command and guidance center of the Armed Forces, a decision was made to keep as few people as possible in these hiding rooms, given that the threat was not confirmed by the military — so there was in fact no attack directed at the Hrebenne border crossing.
At around 8:27 a.m., another strike occurred on the Ukrainian side on a railway siding, and from our information obtained from the Ukrainian side, it appears that a drone — sorry, a missile — struck the locomotive of a freight train. The train consisted of empty tank cars. So these are the pieces of information we obtained from the neighboring side. I know that other information appeared in the media. Here we are not able to confirm 100% which information is true. Mr. Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the current situation at the border crossings is under control. Traffic is proceeding normally. We are not detecting any threats at this moment. Thank you. Would colleagues from the Lublin Border Guard Department like to add anything from the last moment? General, if you would.
The situation, as the commander presented it. Of course. Indeed, after the information that a bomb exploded at the Moldovan-Ukrainian crossing, we observed the Ukrainian side very frequently requesting a suspension of border traffic. The information about the situation on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border occurred on the 9th and 10th — we already had three requests to suspend control in Dorohusk, two in Zosin. On the 11th we had one request to suspend control in Dorohusk. On the 12th we had two requests in Dorohusk and two in Hrubieszów.
Indeed, regarding the preparation of the crossings, taking into account the commander-in-chief's order and the voivodeship's crisis management plans within the critical infrastructure framework, where the crossings operate, we took basic measures to ensure the safety of both officers and travelers. The commanders of the border crossings received orders to issue helmets and vests at control posts the moment an alarm is declared. They are 100% available for the officers' use. We identified hiding places. These hiding places at the border crossings are somewhat adapted from possible locations that can be used — they are simply basements, because we do not have other infrastructure there, but it seems to us that these are reasonably safe places.
We established procedures for the operation of border crossings in two aspects. First, when the Ukrainian side reports an alarm and we see neither our own nor Ukrainian towers — that is, we do not see flying objects that could pose a threat — we then suspend border control at the request of the Ukrainian side. And the second, more alarm-oriented variant: when, after the Ukrainian request to suspend traffic, we see the Ukrainian 'R-alert' application showing flying objects, and our own radar confirms objects in the area approaching the border crossing zone. In that case, the commanders have orders to move coaches outside the border crossings so as not to create a threat to people at the crossing. Additionally, regarding people at the crossing — in heavy traffic we have a problem, because trucks are unable to turn around and we are not able to evacuate them quickly enough. In that case, travelers are informed to go together with officers and other services to hiding places in the border crossing area.
Regarding the effectiveness of these solutions, they worked 100% both in Hrebenne and in Dorohusk. Earlier, of course, before this, we met with all services at the border crossings, familiarizing them with the locations of this deployment. With the customs service, we agreed on the possibility of moving coaches outside the crossing and completing control either outside the crossing or returning to the border crossing.
A very important element worth considering is the issue of officer safety. Those who are at the crossing after evacuation can, within the evacuation, go down to hiding places. However, along the state border line where we have border posts, and at the posts at the entrance to the border crossing, it would be advisable for us to leave officers in place. And here, with the commander-in-chief, we discussed whether the military could quickly implement so-called HESCO bastions. These are large sand-filled barriers where the officer would be able to observe the state border line while still taking shelter in those places, and that would be a very good solution.
Regarding crisis and crisis management, the issue is that upon receiving alarm information, disseminating that information. We have radio telephones, but customs agencies and other services that do not have direct communication are not able to receive the information quickly enough if the time window is very short. We came up with a temporary solution of our own — to use the loudspeakers in service vehicles to announce the alarm — but that is a stopgap measure. It would be good to discuss with the voivodeship, at least temporarily until there is a central system, perhaps also operating at the crossings, to purchase loudhailers that would allow us to announce alarms within the border crossings.
And of course, a very good option here is also cooperation with the police, because it must be said that at the end of the week we always have very large queues of trucks waiting to leave Poland. And taking into account Hrebenne and Dorohusk as supply channels, there is a very large number of ADR vehicles carrying fuel. In connection with this, it would seem that the possibility of moving these ADR vehicles — which pose a very real threat if something were to happen involving an explosion — out of the queue, gently moving them to a safer place, should be considered. We made such an attempt today in Dorohusk. The police, very nicely together with our patrols, moved these vehicles out from in front of the crossing — out from in front of the crossing, a little way into the country, to minimize the risk in case some drone were to circle around in our areas. Mr. Minister, Mr. Prime Minister, I report briefly on our needs and the current situation, and these evacuation solutions seem, on the spot, to be very good solutions.
Thank you very much. We will return to this cooperation with the military and to your needs. General, please give your information. Chief of Staff of the Operational Command. Please go ahead.
