Did Poland just witness a UFO?

Poland's defence ministry Saturday said the unidentified flying object (UFO) that flew into Polish airspace most probably from Belarus was most likely a scientific observation balloon, but an investigation was still underway to establish this statement.

Poland, which is a member of NATO, is on the lookout for infractions of its airspace as the Russian invasion-led war was in full swing in neighbouring Ukraine. Poland has also reported missiles fired from the war zones landed on its territory in November and December.

Captain Ewa Zlotnicka, the spokesperson for the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command, in an interview with TVN 24 said: "The object entered Polish airspace on Friday evening".

Poland's defence ministry said the object blipped on the radar for a while then it disappeared near Rypin, a town in north-central Poland. 

"A search for it was underway," a Territorial Defence Force spokesman said.

Russian and Belarusian authorities were not immediately available for comment.

According to Reuters, after the deaths in November of two Poles hit by what Warsaw concluded was a misfired Ukrainian air defence missile, and the discovery of the remains of the missile in northern Poland in April, national security is a key issue in Poland ahead of elections later this year.