(Photo courtesy: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP)
By Agence France-Presse
Poland warned on Wednesday that Russia and Europe are inching towards an “open conflict” after Warsaw shot down what it said were Russian drones in Polish airspace, drawing vows of support from the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members.
Russia denied targeting Poland, while U.S. President Donald Trump called out the Kremlin for “violating” the NATO ally’s territory, as Moscow unleashed its latest attack on Ukraine. Ukraine’s president and the European Union called the drone move a test of the alliance’s resolve.
Footage posted by local media showed the army in Wyryki-Wola, a village in eastern Poland, inspecting a house with its roof ripped open and debris littered nearby.
“We were just sitting there, and this plane flew over…I said to my husband, ‘Why is this plane so loud today?’ And suddenly, a bang, and that was it,” Alicja Wesolowska, 64, whose house was destroyed, told AFP in Wyryki-Wola.
Authorities said nobody was harmed after Poland’s airspace was violated 19 times. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at least three drones were shot down after Warsaw and its allies scrambled jets.
Tusk also warned of the situation—three-and-a-half years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands of people—risking boiling over, and called for urgent talks with NATO.
Trump, who warned at the weekend that he was ready to impose more sanctions on Moscow, wrote on his Truth Social platform, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” without elaborating.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the intrusion was not accidental and branded it “an unprecedented case of an attack” on Poland, NATO, and the European Union.
But Russia’s defense ministry denied targeting Poland, while Moscow’s foreign ministry accused Warsaw of spreading “myths” to escalate the war in Ukraine.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw separately told AFP that “Poland has failed to provide evidence” that “the objects that entered Polish airspace” were Russian.
Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members, including Poland’s, several times, but a NATO country has never attempted to shoot them down.
‘Reckless behavior’
Tusk said he had invoked NATO’s Article 4, under which a member can call urgent talks when it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is at risk—only the eighth time the measure has been used.
“This situation… brings us closer than ever to open conflict since World War II,” Tusk told parliament.
He, however, said that there is “no reason today to claim that we are in a state of war.”
The incident came as Russia unleashed its latest barrage of strikes across Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the airspace violation was a “dangerous precedent” and urged a strong response from Kyiv’s allies. He slammed Western and global leaders for “lack of action” over the intrusion.
“The Russians are testing the limits of what is possible… They are recording how the armed forces of NATO countries act,” he said in his daily address.
Poland’s interior ministry said 15 drones and debris from an unknown projectile had been located so far. A cornerstone of NATO is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed an attack on all.
NATO chief Mark Rutte denounced Moscow’s “reckless behavior” and hailed his organization’s “very successful reaction,” telling journalists the alliance’s air defenses had done their job.
‘Act of aggression’
European capitals rushed out condemnations, slamming Russian President Vladimir Putin over the incident.
“What he wants to do is to test us,” said the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas. “And every time he’s bolder, because he’s able to be bolder because our response hasn’t been strong enough.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also condemned Russia, saying it had “endangered human lives,” while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a “real risk” of the war spreading beyond Ukraine’s borders.
A senior NATO diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the response from NATO would probably be “shifting a few extra assets” to Poland or elsewhere in the east.
The intrusion came just two days before military drills in Russia and Belarus starting on Friday.
Tusk said “critical days” were ahead for Poland after earlier announcing the closures of its few remaining border crossings with Belarus over the drills.
Poland, a major supporter of Ukraine, hosts more than a million Ukrainian refugees and is a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the country.
