Poland urges municipalities to prepare evacuation plans amid Russian threat

Polish municipalities should prepare evacuation plans in case of an attack, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said on Thursday, warning that Russia could stage further provocations near the country’s border, according to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

Kierwinski said a Ukrainian defeat would be a “black scenario for the whole of Europe”. He added that evacuation plans had also been drawn up at the national level, but their effectiveness would depend on “the strength of the entire defence and emergency response system”.

Warnings of possible border provocations

“We might expect numerous attempts to carry out strikes close to the Polish border and ultimately to cross the Polish border by Russian aircraft, which would later be described as accidental,” the minister said.

Poland has put six border crossings with Ukraine on heightened alert following Russian drone attacks near the border, the Interior Ministry said earlier this week.

Emergency alert systems to be upgraded

The minister said work was under way to modernise the Government Security Centre’s alert system. His ministry is also developing a smartphone warning application and integrating existing alert systems to improve emergency communications.