Warsaw, 13 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) — The Polish Defence Ministry announced on Saturday that a flying object, likely an observation balloon, entered Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.

The object was spotted by the country's flight control centre before disappearing from radar near the city of Rypin, located deep in the interior of Poland.

A search team from the territorial defence forces had already been mobilized to track down the object, the ministry told the PAP news agency.

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has recently faced criticism after debris from what may have been a missile was found in the woods near Zamość, a small town outside the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

The Ministry of Defence later acknowledged that the debris, "possibly a missile," entered Polish airspace as early as December 16 but that airspace control did not immediately alert the ministry.