Polish forces and the Border Guard managed to stop an attempted Russian ‘provocation’ at the border between Poland and Kaliningrad.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that shortly after midnight, he received information from the Border Guard near the Russian enclave that there were individuals moving with flashlights from Kaliningrad.

‘We quickly mobilised the appropriate forces and resources there and managed to prevent any attempted provocation,’ Mr Tusk said.

‘After receiving information, more precisely, that in the first half of November events could occur, including armed incursions into the territory of the Republic of Poland, we decided to send significant police forces and strengthen the Border Guard.

Mr Tusk said the months and weeks ahead are ‘critical’ for all of Europe, adding: ‘We all know and are familiar with this Russian method.’

Addressing critics who he says claim he is ‘obsessed’ with the issue of Russian invasion, he said: ‘Yes, I’m obsessed with the threat, which is clearly growing month by month in terms of behaviour toward Poland and Europe, and of course, especially Ukraine.’

It’s not the first time there has been an attempted Russian provocation into Polish territory.

In late September, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter crossed 1,000 feet into Nato airspace from Kaliningrad, prompting warnings to residents about preparedness.

Poland saw the move as a deliberate transgression to test Nato defences, but also a sobering warning to residents to be prepared in case of a needed evacuation.

The country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski revealed he had an evacuation backpack ready amid fears of full-scale war.

Oxford-educated Sikorski, 63, told Fakt newspaper it was better to be ready for war amid intelligence reports that Putin could strike a Western state this year.

‘I have stocks of rice, I have a hand pump at home, and I have also made preserves from fruit from my own garden,’ he said.

‘I have the safety instructions, and I have also thought through where the nearest place of shelter is. Everyone should also know how to apply a dressing. That is useful even in peacetime.’

Asked whether people should prepare a bag with emergency provisions, he said: ‘We have all received the safety instructions, and if the state tells a citizen, ‘Listen, these are unsettled times, it is better to be prepared’, it does no harm to listen to that.

‘That is my appeal — to listen to it.’

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