Cezary Tomczyk.
© Getty ImagesCezary Tomczyk.
Cezary Tomczyk cited tensions on the border with Belarus and Russian balloons straying into Polish airspace

Poland has slipped into a state of "hybrid war" amid soaring tensions with Russia and its key ally Belarus, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk has said.

Tomczyk made the remarks on Monday while speaking at a high-level panel on Poland's security situation, suggesting that his country had already entered a state just below the level of actual war.

"What we are facing in Poland today is de facto hybrid warfare. And we can say directly that Poland is in a state of war today, but in a state of hybrid warfare," he stated, as quoted by PAP news agency.

He pointed to the situation on the border with Belarus, as well as incidents where weather balloons appeared in Polish airspace. Warsaw has for years accused Minsk of trying to pressure it by sending illegal migrants across the border. Belarus has denied the allegations while accusing Polish authorities of brutal treatment of the migrants.

In recent months, Polish authorities also reported several cases of Russian balloons straying into national airspace. Officials in Warsaw investigated the incidents, but concluded that the craft posed no threat to national security.

One of the most recent cases occurred in late June, when Poland reported that they had been warned by their Russian counterparts that they had lost control of one of their balloons protecting airspace in the exclave of Kaliningrad. The aircraft strayed into Polish airspace for four and a half hours. Polish authorities said they deliberately did not shoot it down because of "possible negative consequences."

Tomczyk, however, suggested that the balloon incidents are still intended to promote Russia's political agenda. "It is de facto a tool for a few hundred dollars, which can be used to influence all of us in a very simple way... It is enough to put a few words in Cyrillic on them, and all portals in Poland will write about it."

He added that the purpose of such tactics is to trigger discussions in Polish society and undermine public trust in the government. The deputy minister said cyberattacks are another facet of the hybrid warfare, which he estimated at about 5,000 a year.