Poland’s Prime Minister today warned ‘we are closer to war than any time since World War Two’ after his country was forced to shoot down Russian drones that violated its airspace.
Polish media is now reporting that Donald Tusk has requested the triggering of NATO’s Article 4, where member countries can bring an issue to the attention of the North Atlantic Council. Poland’s security council will also meet to discuss an ‘appropriate response’.
More than eight million Poles were ordered to hide in their homes as the drones flew overhead, with debris from one shot-down device crashing into a house. The full force of NATO’s fighter planes was unleashed to shoot down the drones.
After the organisation’s patriot defence systems detected the drones with their radars, Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35, Italian surveillance aircraft, and NATO’s MRTT mid-air refuelling aircraft all came together to counter the drones.
The downing of Russia’s unmanned aerial vehicles marked the first-ever direct engagement between Moscow and NATO. It has long insisted it wants no confrontation with Putin. Kyiv has accused Russia of deliberately invading Poland’s airspace with 24 UAVs to test the West’s defences.
Multiple Russian drones leaving Ukraine airspace into Poland’s
On Wednesday, Tusk held an extraordinary meeting with top officials after Russia’s actions. Senior army officials are present at the gathering.
He said a number of drones that posed direct threats to Russia were shot down in a joint effort with NATO allies, and warned that Poland is ready to react. The prime minister added that he was in communication with allies.
Tusk also spoke in parliament and said some of the drones flew in from neighbouring Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia. He also confirmed that three or four of the nineteen drones were shot down.
UPDATE: The reasons for this are decidedly ambiguous. Could be to provoke NATO, to test Poland’s defenses, to prepare for negotiations or just to flex. How we interpret it is a psychosemiotic challenge. I doubt Putin wants war and also I doubt he would back down from war if provoked. It is very possible Poland or NATO has provoked Russia in some way we do not know about. Navrotsky said yesterday: ‘I’m not going to give my consent to send the Polish military to Ukraine’. I wonder if his views on that will change now. Another possibility is Zelensky sent doctored drones from Ukraine to provoke Poland against Russia. ABN
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