Three Czech helicopters have arrived in Poland to strengthen the airspace protection of the country's eastern border. The army announced this on the X network in the early evening, according to which the helicopters will head to their final destination in the coming hours.

"Our airmen will begin protecting Polish airspace in the near future," the army noted.

Poland recorded nineteen violations of its airspace by Russian drones on Wednesday night. The Czech Republic sent a special operations helicopter unit with three Mi-171Š aircraft to help protect the eastern border. Defense Minister Jana Černochová (ODS) said in Václav Moravec's Questions that up to 150 Czech soldiers are expected to be sent for a maximum of three months.

The helicopters will help the Polish army protect the country from drones at low altitudes, the ministry said earlier. The helicopter unit has been operating in Poland in recent years, including helping with floods that hit Poland and the Czech Republic last September.

The deployment of soldiers is enabled by the current mandate for the operation of forces and resources of the Ministry of Defense for 2025 and 2026, which was approved by the Chamber of Deputies last year. The mandate allows for strengthening the defense of the eastern border of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), where up to two thousand Czech soldiers can operate. Currently, domestic soldiers operate in Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia under this mandate.