Poland mulls deploying drones to protect rail, energy sites

LONDON

The Polish government is considering to create "special zones" around essential infrastructure like railways and energy sites by deploying drones, after suspected sabotage attempts on railway line to Ukraine.

Polish State Assets Minister Wojciech Balczun said that the state-approved drones would track activity on the ground around critical infrastructure, and if needed, intercept hostile unmanned aircraft.

"If we have drone technology, we should now use this technology to protect our critical infrastructure," he said in an interview that was published by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

He added that the recent rail incident has a "big influence on the security decisions" that have to be made.

Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia over two suspected sabotage attempts on the rail line linking the Polish capital to the eastern city of Lublin and to Ukraine.

A total of three Ukrainians, who were accused of working for Russia, have been arrested over the sabotage attempts.

Moscow has denied the allegations, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that "Russophobia is flourishing" in Poland.

The Polish minister also said that deploying such drones earlier might have helped avert the recent sabotage, adding that the subsequent "reaction of the police and the secret service was absolutely correct."