Warsaw (AFP) – France and Germany moved to bolster the defense of Polish airspace Thursday as the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting to discuss Warsaw’s accusation that Moscow launched a drone raid on its territory. Poland branded the incident, which prompted Polish and NATO forces to shoot down several drones overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, a deliberate “unprecedented” attack on the country, NATO, and the European Union. Moscow denied targeting the country and stated there was no evidence that the drones were Russian.
The drones intruded as Russia unleashed a barrage of strikes across Ukraine as part of an ongoing offensive following its 2022 invasion. US President Donald Trump, who has been trying unsuccessfully to broker a halt to the war in Ukraine, told reporters on Thursday that the alleged incursion may have happened by “mistake”. However, Polish President Karol Nawrocki warned during a visit to an airbase in western Poland that the incident was “an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and our readiness to respond”.
Germany announced it would “extend and expand” its participation in NATO’s Air Policing program to provide more cover for Polish airspace. Its defense ministry stated it would double the number of Eurofighter jets deployed to four and extend their mission by three months to the end of the year. French President Emmanuel Macron also announced on X that France would “deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies”.
The UN Security Council’s South Korean presidency announced Thursday it would hold an emergency meeting to discuss Warsaw’s claim of a “violation of Polish airspace by Russia”. This meeting is scheduled for Friday at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT).
Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members, including Poland, several times since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Polish officials indicated that drones violated its airspace 19 times on this occasion, but there were no casualties and the damage was limited to a house and a car being destroyed.
Poland’s National Security Council met Thursday, and the defense minister was expected to brief parliament on the latest findings. In response to these developments, Poland boosted its security on Thursday by closing air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of three kilometers (1.9 miles) until December 9. The PAZP air traffic control agency announced that drones would also be banned. The country had previously announced increased measures on the Belarus border to cope with military drills being carried out with its ally Russia between September 12 and 16. Consequently, the few open border crossings with Belarus were to be closed from Friday due to the Zapad (“West”) drills.
Reacting to the closure, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged Poland “to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible”. She added that the border closure was intended to “justify a policy of further escalating tensions in the center of Europe”.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday that the drone raid marked an unprecedented escalation of tension with Russia. He called a NATO meeting on Wednesday, invoking Article 4, which allows a member to convene urgent talks when it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence, or security” are at risk—marking only the eighth time this measure has been used. 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” while praising the organization’s response. He stated that the alliance’s air defenses had successfully fulfilled their role. The European Union and Ukraine condemned the incident on Wednesday, with several European countries following suit on Thursday.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing that China “hopes that all parties concerned will properly resolve their disputes through dialogue and consultation”. Notably, China has never denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine. Poland, a major supporter of Ukraine, hosts over one million Ukrainian refugees and serves as a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the country.
© 2024 AFP
