The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Poland is at its closest to open conflict since World War Two
He says up to four of 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft, marking the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a NATO country
Poland’s interior ministry says seven drones and the remains of an unidentified object have been found so far
The key question is whether this was a deliberate act by the Kremlin to test NATO’s response.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says it won’t comment. Earlier, a Russian diplomat in Poland rejected claims of drones in Polish airspace, state media reports
The drones that entered Poland were part of the latest major aerial attack on Ukraine, where Russia launched 415 drones overnight.
President Volodymyr Zelensky calls it an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe.”
European leaders have been widely condemnatory of the attack.
NATO chief Mark Rutte called Russia’s violation of Polish airspace “reckless behaviour”, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was another “step of escalation”
Russia’s violation of Poland’s airspace is “reckless behaviour”, irrespective of whether it was deliberate, says NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
In a statement, Rutte says NATO allies have expressed full solidarity with Poland. He adds that a full assessment is ongoing.
Several NATO allies were involved in shooting down the Russian drones, says Rutte, including the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany.
However, Russia’s defence ministry says it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland, after Warsaw said 19 Russian drones entered its airspace during overnight attacks on western Ukraine.
In a daily update on strikes against Ukraine, it says: “No objects on Polish territory were planned to be targeted.
“The maximum range of UAVs used in the strike (on Ukraine) does not exceed 700 km (435 miles).
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“Nonetheless, we are ready to hold consultations with the Polish defence ministry on the subject.”
So far, the Kremlin has made its first comment on the situation in Poland, but only to say it won’t comment.
“We wouldn’t like to comment on this,” says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on his daily conference call with journalists.
“This is not for us to do so. It’s a matter for the (Russian) defence ministry.”
When asked about the accusations being levelled at Moscow, Peskov replied: “The leadership of the EU and NATO accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis, usually without backing this up.”
