Last night russia attacked #Poland with #drones.
Prime Minister of Poland #Tusk says that it was not an attack but a massive provocation, there’s no need for panic and life should continue as normal.
My Polish friends, he’s not wrong on the count of panic but otherwise he’s a little off base. Though, you should give him no crap as it’s literally his job to keep you all calm.
Let me expand a bit on his statement.
It was not an #attack. Technically, he’s right. There was no specific targets on Polish soil russia intended to hit. It was not an invasion like it was in #Ukraine.
It was a #provocation. It certainly was a premeditated act, it wasn’t a mistake. Polish SIM cards were found in dawned drones in Ukraine since at least July. So russians planned this for some time and implemented it in hardware a while ago.
It was a massive provocation. Drones and missiles went into Polish airspace on multiple occasions before but they were singular and could easily be dismissed as mistakes or quirks of decision making algorithms in a jammed drone. This time it was at least 19 drones (UPD: and at least one missile) (according to the Prime Minster of Poland, some Polish sources claim as many as 23). They were on a rather straight course and went as far as 500 km deep into Poland (Oleśno, Gmina Gronowo Elbląskie).
This provocation is meant to test #NATO's resolve. Specifically Article 5. And we have an answer already. This was not an attack. There's nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately, this means the next even bigger provocation is definitely coming. Putin was allowed to get away with this so he'll escalate further. Maybe he'll try hitting something in Poland. Say, a military base or a transportation hub involved in military aid to Ukraine. Maybe it'll be in Baltics. Finland got some unpleasant remarks from russian officials recently. Whatever it is, it's coming and probably sooner than later. Unfortunately, russia's about to run out of money so it can't really afford to wait long. It'll probably be on the order of weeks rather than months.
There's no need for panic. Now, this is very true. Panic doesn't help at all. What you should do is prepare. It is very unlikely you'll get invaded so I wouldn't plan to leave your home. But it's likely you'll get more drones or even missiles.
Learn where bomb shelters are around you. There are probably dedicated ones but they might've been mothballed and are not publicly accessible. Maybe contact your local authorities to fix that. Meanwhile see if there are any accessible basements nearby. Maybe even in your building. Find underground parkings, they work as shelters fine.
Remember the 2 Walls Rule: there must be at least 2 walls between you and the explosion. Why: explosion will shatter the first wall and things around it and all that sharp debris will fly your way. The first wall will absorb most of the explosion shock though. The second wall will protect you from the debris.
Learn the structure of your building. Find out where the load bearing structures are. Those are more structurally solid and will provide more protection.
Old brick building usually have outer walls for their load bearing structure. In those any second wall should be fine.
New monolith apartment blocks have the load bearing structure on the inside and outside walls are only barriers from the elements. In these building its better to go as deep as possible into the building: internal hallways are usually a safe bet.
Concrete panel apartment blocks (the soviet type, wielka płyta, you probably still have a few of them around) are the worst. They tend to fold like a house of cards. Try avoiding basements in such a buildings too. You probably will survive in the basement but will be blocked for a while by all the rubble on top. Go somewhere else.
Small houses. All above applies but also you should take into account that things might fall from the above. Most houses don't have much of load bearing structure in the ceiling and roof.
Find out how to stay informed about threats. In government sounds air strike alarms in regions where there's a threat. There's also an official app that give air strike alerts in the form of push notifications to your phone. It also provide more specific information on the kind of a threat. Fid out of Poland has anything like that.
Despite all the issues with Telegram, it's a vital source of information. There's a number of channels that provide near real-time information about whereabouts of drones and missiles. Including an official channel of Air Forces of Ukraine. Admins of some of the channels have direct access to realtime radar data and are accurate, others repost information from credible sources. Find out which are which. A number of channels posted updates in Polish last night when it was relevant. Other messengers probably have similar channels. I know for certain that Viber has.
Moderate your fear. For a while this might be new to you. While it is you will be frightened of it as of anything dangerous and unknown. This is normal. But do not panic. A direct hit might be lethal but also there's only a very small chance of that. Ukraine regularly gets attacked by hundreds of drones directly targeting civilians and even then casualties are few. You'll have to learn to distinguish a really dangerous situation from a merely uncomfortable. Most of the time you're not in actual danger. This doesn't mean you should neglect your safety. Be proactive in sheltering when needed. Know when it is. When you don't know err on the side of caution.