Two Young People Arrested After Drone Flies Over Poland’s Presidential Palace

Polish police detained two young people on Tuesday after a drone was seen flying over the Belweder presidential palace and other government buildings in Warsaw, an incident that prompted a security response while the country remains on high alert.

Authorities identified the suspects as a 17-year-old Belarusian female and a 21-year-old Ukrainian man. The Police State Protection Services were called Monday night after the unmanned aircraft was observed over the presidential residence. Officials said the drone has been seized and the two suspects were interrogated as an investigation continues.

Spokesperson Jacek Dobrzyński said investigators were examining the motive and cautioned against drawing immediate conclusions. “These are young people, perhaps it was due to carelessness, perhaps ignorance, perhaps because they wanted to make a film,” he told reporters. The office of the Minister Coordinating Special Services also rejected social media claims that the incident constituted a “massive espionage action.”

Piotr Antoni Skiba of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw said the facts gathered so far do not indicate an international incident. “At this stage, the evidence and the circumstances of the incident support a violation of aviation law, not the commission of a crime of espionage,” he told local TVN24.

Polish authorities said no further information about the suspects or details about the drone had been released as of Tuesday afternoon. The two face charges that carry a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison for illegally flying an aircraft over Warsaw’s government buildings.

The incident occurred a week after a separate and larger disruption in which dozens of Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO jets to be scrambled. Last Wednesday, Polish officials said 19 Russian projectiles breached the country’s airspace; most were shot down or crashed near the border with Ukraine, while at least two were later recovered more than 100 miles inside Poland.

Poland has since maintained heightened vigilance along its eastern flank, increasing patrols and monitoring of unmanned aerial systems. Authorities said the current probe aims to determine whether the recent flight was a case of careless hobbyist activity or if other motives were involved, and investigators continue to review available footage, witness statements and technical evidence from the seized drone.