Violation of the Polish border by Russian drones: reaction of NATO and allies

A number of Western governments have expressed solidarity and concern after a group of Russian drones entered the airspace of NATO member Poland. The incident, which took place on the night of September 10, has provoked a strong reaction from Warsaw and has also become a topic of discussion at the Alliance level.

This is reported by the BBC and Reuters .

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the violation of the Polish border by Russian drones, calling it an “unacceptable act.” According to him, Moscow’s aggressive behavior poses a threat to all of Europe. “We support Poland as an ally of NATO and the EU, and together we stand on the side of Ukraine,” he noted.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkėvičius also issued a statement, emphasizing Poland’s full support. In his opinion, such incidents indicate that Russia’s war against Ukraine has direct consequences for the security of neighboring states.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide described the situation as “deeply worrying”, stressing that Norway stands shoulder to shoulder with Poland and other NATO allies.

Despite harsh rhetoric from Warsaw, the Alliance has so far avoided classifying the incident as a direct attack. A NATO representative said that the incident with the Russian UAVs is not considered an act of aggression under Article 5, but it is seriously considered a threat to the security of an ally.

In turn, a NATO source told Reuters that, according to preliminary estimates, up to 10 Russian drones deliberately violated Polish airspace on the night of September 10.

This is the first documented case of Allied aircraft opening fire in the skies over a member country. The night operation involved Polish F-16s, Dutch Air Force F-35s, Italian AWACS aircraft, and tanker aircraft from NATO’s collective fleet.

At the same time, according to the source, Patriot anti-aircraft systems in the region detected enemy drones on radar, but did not activate.

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart confirmed that numerous drones were indeed seen flying over Poland overnight. She noted that Polish and NATO air defense assets were on alert and were escorting the targets.

In addition, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in constant contact with the Polish side, conducting consultations amid the escalation of the situation.

Poland previously said it considered the enemy drones’ flight an “act of aggression” that posed a real threat to the security of its citizens. On the night of September 10, four Polish airports temporarily ceased operations, and ground air defense forces and aviation were put on high alert.

As a reminder, on the night of September 9-10, the situation in Eastern Europe escalated again – Russia launched a massive strike on the territory of Ukraine, while a number of enemy drones crossed the air border of Poland . This forced Warsaw to activate air defense forces and engage aviation.

As reported, on the morning of September 10 , Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk initiated an urgent government meeting due to an incident involving the violation of the country’s airspace by Russian drones.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.