Poland Warned Putin His Plane Would Be ‘Forcibly Landed’ and He’d Be Taken to The Hague If He Flew Into Polish Airspace

Photo of Radosław Sikorski by Wystąpienie Ministra Sikorskiego w Senacie/Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Flickr.

Poland warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to enter Polish airspace, or his plane would be “forcibly landed” and he’d be escorted to The Hague to be prosecuted for war crimes, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski said in a radio interview on Tuesday.

Putin’s potential flight plans were to travel to Budapest, Hungary to meet with President Donald Trump regarding the war in Ukraine — a meeting that seems to be on hold after comments by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov falsely claiming Ukraine was “under Nazi rule” and Russia’s insistence on claiming Ukrainian territory it has never held throughout this war.

If the meeting ends up back on, however, Putin will have to choose a flight path that avoids Poland.

In an interview with Radio Rozina, Sikorski was adamant that Putin should not expect safe passage through Polish airspace and if he dared, would find himself with a one-way ticket to The Hague.

On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes related to the invasion of Ukraine, followed by warrants for several other high-level Russian officials. Any of the 123 member states to the ICC have agreed to have Putin arrested if he sets foot within their borders. Poland is a signatory; Hungary withdrew this past June.

Sikorski made it clear that Poland would enforce the ICC arrest warrant in the skies as well. From Radio Rozina’s report on the interview (original in Polish; translation via Google Translate):

Later in the conversation, we asked about Putin’s possible flight to Budapest. Should Poland allow it to overfly our country?

“We cannot guarantee that an independent Polish court will not order a hypothetical plane carrying Putin to be brought down for the transfer of a suspect to The Hague,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs said (…). “The fact that an EU member bound by the International Criminal Court is inviting President Putin to its home is distasteful. It also shows that Hungary is positioning itself not as part of the West, but between the West and Russia (…). There are those who would like Ukraine to capitulate. Ukraine has no reason for this,” he emphasized.

“Peace will come when Putin is able to understand that he cannot win the war.” Pressure must be put on Putin, not Ukraine, Minister Radosław Sikorski emphasizes.

Sikorski shared a link to the Radio Rozina interview on his social media Tuesday.

“Samolot z Putinem może zostać przejęty w Polsce,” said the part of the caption referencing Putin. (“The plane carrying Putin may be seized in Poland.”)