{"id":1293153,"date":"2025-09-16T11:53:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/poles-have-already-smelled-war-is-europe-ready-for-resistance\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T07:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T04:38:23","slug":"poles-have-already-smelled-war-is-europe-ready-for-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/poles-have-already-smelled-war-is-europe-ready-for-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland Smells War: Can Europe Stand Together"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Source: Author&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MykolaKniazhytsky\/posts\/pfbid02GizL7fjZYknfYRvXcFyD8zwVizUvCvBKpZCFdf92HxGmswqMEPTRYvYyNqyzztP9l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a> page<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Poles are already feeling the shadow of war. The sounds, smells, and tension of conflict have begun to seep into daily life. Most people know that life is now marked by a clear before and after September 10, even though active combat has yet to reach their homes. In the recent Russian drone strike, no lives were lost, and only a single house was destroyed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"87\" data-end=\"316\">Drones have been detected 300\u2013350 km from the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders, with most of them launched from these countries. Millions of Poles received alerts about the danger, and air raid sirens sounded in several cities.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"318\" data-end=\"526\">On Saturday, Polish and Dutch fighter jets took to the skies again, and air raid warnings were issued in two cities in the Lublin Voivodeship, which borders Ukraine. The airport in Lublin itself was closed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"528\" data-end=\"803\">For Poles, the war is no longer a distant conflict; it has become &#8220;ours.&#8221; Most understand that, regardless of the outcome of Russia&#8217;s aggression in Ukraine, Moscow is determined to advance. War is central to Putin&#8217;s rule\u2014without it, neither he nor his regime could survive.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"805\" data-end=\"977\">NATO has passed a test. By shooting down four drones over Poland, the Alliance revealed both the limits of its weaknesses and the reach of its strengths and capabilities.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" >\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/russia-expanded-the-zapad-2025-exercise-zone-the-exercises-moved-closer-to-nato-borders\/\">Russia expanded the Zapad-2025 exercise zone: the exercises moved closer to NATO borders<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p data-start=\"87\" data-end=\"445\">For Ukrainians, NATO\u2019s claim of demonstrating \u201cstrength and capabilities\u201d may seem almost absurd, since in a single night, we can destroy or disable not four, but over 700 drones, including warheads and decoys. This is true\u2014as is the fact that Alliance aircraft used missiles worth hundreds of thousands of euros to destroy relatively cheap, unarmed drones.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"447\" data-end=\"710\">However, the starting point is important: until September 10, NATO had a policy of not intercepting Russian drones and missiles entering the territories of Poland, Romania, Lithuania, and Estonia, in order \u201cnot to escalate,\u201d as NATO officials repeatedly stated.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"712\" data-end=\"1320\">On September 10, escalation became necessary because strategic Alliance facilities were under threat\u2014specifically the infrastructure and security of Yasionka airport near Rzesz\u00f3w, the main logistics hub for delivering military assistance to Ukraine from Western allies. Following the order to shoot down Russian drones, NATO made another crucial decision: the air security of the Alliance\u2019s eastern flank would be ensured under <strong data-start=\"1140\" data-end=\"1170\">Operation Eastern Sentinel<\/strong>, in which France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, and several other countries declared their readiness to participate.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1322\" data-end=\"1644\">Yet one state remained silent, despite stationing 10,000 troops in Poland, tasked with defending, among other things, Yasionka airport. This state is, of course, the United States, whose representatives continue to claim that there is insufficient evidence to confirm the deliberate nature of the drone attack on Poland.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1646\" data-end=\"2010\">This is the position of General <strong data-start=\"1678\" data-end=\"1699\">Alexus Hrynkevich<\/strong>, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. At the same time, according to the assessment of the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command dated September 10, the incursion of Russian drones was a deliberate attack. It appears that NATO\u2019s European Command based its decision to shoot down four drones on this assessment.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" data-right>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/a-game-of-fear-and-excuses-putin-declared-air-war-on-europe\/\">A Game of Fear and Excuses: Putin\u2019s Air War on Europe<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p data-start=\"94\" data-end=\"345\">On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, <em data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"278\">\u201cThere is no doubt: the drones were launched intentionally. The question is whether they were specifically targeted at Poland.\u201d<\/em> He described the incident as \u201cunacceptable, sad, and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"347\" data-end=\"800\">President Donald Trump referred to the Russian drone attack as a \u201cmistake,\u201d a claim immediately rejected by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who insisted he had irrefutable evidence supporting his assessment. Other European leaders, the President of the European Commission, the NATO Secretary General, and even General Keith Kellogg, the US President\u2019s special representative for Ukraine, also expressed no doubt about the deliberate nature of the attack.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"802\" data-end=\"1053\">The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine presented maps showing the flight paths of Russian drones toward Poland. It was also confirmed that Polish SIM cards were found in the drones\u2014irrefutable evidence of their route over Polish territory.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1055\" data-end=\"1162\">So why, then, does the American administration and military take a \u201cstrange,\u201d to put it mildly, position?<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1164\" data-end=\"1524\">The answer can be divided into several points. The main one is Washington\u2019s reluctance to acknowledge its strategic misjudgment in assessing the Putin regime\u2014its criminal nature and aggressive ambitions. Recognizing that Russia carried out a deliberate attack, particularly targeting areas where American troops are stationed, would require immediate action.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1526\" data-end=\"1917\">Acknowledging these facts would demand a swift response, especially considering that Russia\u2019s so-called \u201cescalation,\u201d as Rubio termed it, threatens not only Poland and NATO\u2019s eastern flank but also the United States itself. Russia has demonstrated that even the presence of American forces in Poland does not prevent it from attacking Alliance members or posing a threat to American units.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" >\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/stopping-the-war-proved-too-difficult-trump-for-the-first-time-called-russia-an-aggressor-and-admitted-his-failure\/\">\u201cStopping the war proved too difficult\u201d: Trump for the first time called Russia an aggressor and admitted his failure<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p data-start=\"94\" data-end=\"240\">Putin has sent a clear message: he is ready to act aggressively against NATO members. Is Trump prepared to respond? The answer appears to be no.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"242\" data-end=\"625\">The Russian drone attack has cast doubt on Trump\u2019s commitment to maintain the presence of American troops on Polish soil\u2014a promise he made during a conversation with President Karol Nawrocki at the White House on September 3. This explains the decisive statements and actions taken by the Polish government, personally led by Prime Minister Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister Sikorsky.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"627\" data-end=\"938\">Invoking Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, Poland requested consultations with other Alliance members, resulting in the launch of <strong data-start=\"759\" data-end=\"789\">Operation Eastern Sentinel<\/strong>. The drone attack was also addressed at the UN Security Council, where Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki clearly presented Poland\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1196\">The Polish leadership is acting correctly. If Trump is allowed today to evade action against Russia, dismissing the incident as a \u201cmistake,\u201d it sets a dangerous precedent: in the event of an attack involving combat drones, he may adopt the same approach.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1198\" data-end=\"1249\">What conclusions can we draw from this situation?<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1251\" data-end=\"1677\">The key point is that, today, only the Ukrainian army is fully prepared to wage a modern war using drones, robotic systems, and artificial intelligence. As General Keith Kellogg noted, in both the production and deployment of drones, the Ukrainian military has outpaced the Pentagon. This serves as further evidence that Ukraine is defending not only its own independence but also the security of Europe and NATO as a whole.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" data-right>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/accidentally-lost-what-is-the-key-goal-of-military-exercises-in-belarus\/\">\u201cAccidentally lost\u201d: what is the key goal of military exercises in Belarus<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p data-start=\"94\" data-end=\"401\">So, contrary to Russian propaganda and the claims of many in the West that \u201cthis is not our war,\u201d the reality is quite the opposite. Ukraine has become a crucial security \u201cdonor\u201d amid Russia\u2019s aggression and the attacks of its authoritarian allies against freedom, democracy, and the entire Western world.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"403\" data-end=\"799\">Trump\u2019s letter to NATO members, threatening not to impose new sanctions on Russia or its supporters, has highlighted the weakness of Washington\u2019s position. After seven months of attempting to broker peace in Ukraine, all he has managed is to repeat the false narrative of the \u201cBiden-Zelensky war\u201d and blame America\u2019s allies. He has achieved nothing with Putin\u2014and, it seems, is not even trying.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"801\" data-end=\"1383\">The insistence of the Polish authorities that NATO, and especially the United States, officially recognize the deliberate nature of the Russian attack has intensified efforts to secure guarantees for Ukraine. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, these guarantees are essentially ready. Upholding the obligations the US has assumed to protect Poland would also demonstrate that Washington takes similar commitments to Ukraine seriously. As Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has stated, security guarantees for Ukraine are, in essence, Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1385\" data-end=\"1870\">Finally, the Russian drone attack against Poland has once again demonstrated that the path to ending the war and achieving peace on our soil depends primarily on the <strong data-start=\"1551\" data-end=\"1613\">heroism and professionalism of the Armed Forces of Ukraine<\/strong>, the <strong data-start=\"1619\" data-end=\"1680\">production capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry<\/strong>, and the <strong data-start=\"1690\" data-end=\"1728\">resilience of our people and state<\/strong>. Everything else is secondary. Peace will not come as a gift from Trump\u2014it must be earned through the courage and effort of Ukraine itself.<\/p>\n<p>Also, follow <strong>\u201cPryamyi\u201d<\/strong> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pryamiy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/prm_ua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/+rtV4dxYu2_cyNjVi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Telegram<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pryamiy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 Materials published in the \u201cOPINIONS\u201d section reflect the opinion of the author of the publication, who bears full responsibility for the accuracy of the information.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 The editorial staff of prm.ua may not share the opinions expressed in the author&#8217;s material.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 The owner of the webpage in the \u201cOPINIONS\u201d section is the author of the publication.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Author&#8217;s Facebook page Poles are already feeling the shadow of war. The sounds, smells, and tension of conflict have begun to seep into daily life. Most people know that life is now marked by a clear before and after September 10, even though active combat has yet to reach their homes. In the recent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1293139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76871,76872,76893],"class_list":["post-1293153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2","category-news-feed","category-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1293153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1293469,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293153\/revisions\/1293469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1293139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1293153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1293153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}