Kremlin Violates NATO Space; Poland First Country "Visited” by Russian Drones

Polish airspace was penetrated by several Russian drones on Tuesday night, some crashing on the country's territory, others shot down by Polish and allied defenses. Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed 19 incursions, and Warsaw activated Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, denouncing an unprecedented act of aggression. NATO intervened with Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s and German Patriot systems, marking the first time the Alliance has engaged in a direct threat in its own airspace. Moscow denies any involvement, but experts warn that it could not be an accident, but a dangerous test of NATO's resolve.

However, the event took place in the context in which Vladimir Putin had just strengthened his economic and military ties with China, North Korea and other members of the organization last week in Tianjin, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, and watched China's demonstration of military force at the September 3 parade in Tiananmen Square.

According to the authorities in Warsaw and the Polish media, following the multiple violations of its airspace by Russian drones, defensive procedures were activated and formal consultations were requested from allies under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that "a significant number of the drones flew directly from Belarus” and said: "Article 4 is just the beginning of closer cooperation. We expect greater support during the consultations. This is not our war, this is not just a war against Ukraine, this is a war, a confrontation that Russia has declared to the entire free world.”

The Polish Foreign Ministry, through its spokesman Pawe³ Wroñski, announced that it had handed over an official note of protest to the Russian representative in Warsaw. In response, Andrei Ordasz, Russia's temporary charge d'affaires in Warsaw, described the accusations as "unfounded” and told RIA Novosti that "no evidence has been presented that these drones are of Russian origin.” The Russian official added that "Russia is not interested in escalating the conflict” and accused the Polish authorities of "anti-Russian frenzy.”

• Seven drones and one missile shot down by Polish air force

Meanwhile, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces (DORSZ) reported that "following the attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, there was an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects; this is an act of aggression that created a real threat to the safety of our citizens.” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense W³adys³aw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that defensive procedures were immediately activated, Polish and allied radar systems tracked over a dozen objects, and those considered threats were neutralized. Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, spokesman for the DORSZ, explained that "it was a truly busy night, unprecedented for our armed forces and allies. All procedures worked correctly and a detailed report on the events will be drawn up.” He said many of the drones were sent only to test Poland's response and that ongoing investigations would determine whether the incident was a direct attack on Poland.

Karolina Ga³ecka, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, said that so far seven drones and debris from a missile of unknown origin had been found, crashed in the Lublin, £od¼ and Warmia-Masuria voivodeships. Confirmed locations include Cze¶niki, Czosnowka, Wyryki Wola, Krzywowierzba Kolonia, Wohyñ, Mniszkow and Ole¶no, while debris from a projectile was found in the town of Wyhalew. A building in Wyryki Wola was damaged and authorities warned the public not to touch the fallen objects, as they may contain hazardous materials.

• Defense of Polish airspace, a joint action of allied air forces

NATO reacted promptly. The Joint Allied Command confirmed in a message on its official page on the X network that "this is the first time that NATO aircraft have taken action against potential threats in the airspace of Alliance member states." The operation involved Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s and Italian AWACS aircraft, and German Patriot systems deployed in Poland were placed on alert. "The Netherlands and Poland were not the only countries to respond. NATO acted quickly and decisively, demonstrating its capabilities and determination to defend allied territory," the statement said.

According to Reuters, preliminary data suggests that the drone incursion was intentional, and sources in the Alliance confirmed that it was for the first time that NATO aircraft have engaged a potential threat in the airspace of the military bloc.

American defense expert Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon official, told the German daily Die Welt that "it is difficult to imagine that this was accidental; the violation of national airspace by a drone is an accident, but the violation by several drones is not a simple accident; most likely, this is a test, a test to which NATO must respond".

For his part, Polish MEP Andrzej Halicki, vice-president of the EPP, emphasized yesterday in the plenary of the European Parliament, at the debate on the State of the EU presented by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, that "we had to defend a NATO country, a country of the European Union, and we passed the test; Putin is testing whether we are united and ready to defend our security".

The North Atlantic Council will determine how NATO will respond to these incidents, while Warsaw insists that the security of all of Europe is being tested. Between the reality confirmed by radars and debris found on Polish territory, the firm reactions of the authorities in Warsaw and NATO's coordinated military response, on the one hand, and Moscow's denials, on the other, one of the most tense security crises in recent years is taking shape, a signal that the Alliance's eastern border is increasingly the scene of a direct confrontation with Russia.

As investigations continue and the Alliance prepares to respond unitedly, Poland warns that it will not tolerate new provocations, and NATO sends out that it remains ready to defend every inch of Allied territory. Between Moscow's denials and the solidarity displayed by the West, the night of the drones crashed in Poland risks becoming the turning point that will show whether Europe and NATO are willing to turn firm statements into decisive action.

• Iulian Fota: "Poland reacted flawlessly, as per the book”

Poland's reaction to the "aggression” from Russia was flawless, as per the book, political expert Iulian Fota, former presidential advisor and former secretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the BURSA newspaper.

Iulian Fota specified: "The incident can be called an aggression. The Poles have already taken this step, at least the military authorities have classified what happened as an aggression. At first glance, Poland reacted impeccably, as per the book, quickly mobilizing its defense. What should be NATO's reaction after such an event, that is, after an aggression? There are several mandatory steps that member states follow. First of all, the country that was the victim of the aggression must frame this issue: to say whether it wants to invoke any article of the treaty or to maintain it as a bilateral, Russian-Polish incident, without NATO involvement. Poland has two options. To invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which will lead to consultations with the allies and I understand that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already referred to this aspect. Poland could also invoke Article 5, which applies in case of aggression. If Poland were to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, then the entire Alliance would mobilize. The "The complicated thing, good or bad, is that from that moment on we are at war with Russia. But I don't think it will go that far. It is a serious incident, but not one that will trigger a full-scale mobilization of NATO."

He also said that there was information that the drones had arrived in Poland as a result of Ukrainian anti-drone actions and pointed out: "The situation is very complicated and dangerous. We need to be very precise and know exactly what happened. It is one thing for Russia to have sent a swarm of drones over Poland, another is that it was an unintended consequence of Ukrainian measures. If this hypothesis is correct, the drones would have been diverted and ended up over Polish territory accidentally. I tried to take the simple version: Russia sent the drones intentionally. But I don't understand why they would do this, how would it help them provide ammunition to the Alliance, especially at a time when things are going quite well for them and the US has a hesitant policy regarding sanctioning the Russian Federation. However, when I learned that they had launched so many drones, I thought that maybe Putin's military acted on their own or made fun of the situation. It is also possible that Putin wanted to test reactions, especially after receiving a boost of confidence last week following the Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”.

The former presidential advisor also said that NATO's decision will be influenced by Poland's framing of this incident: as a bilateral issue with Russia or as an aggression against a NATO member state.

• Nicu Fălcoi: "Poland did the right thing by shooting down the drones”

What happened in Poland, according to the information available so far, seems to be a provocation from Russia, he told us Nicu Fălcoi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Avioane Craiova, former MP, former Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, former fighter pilot in the Romanian Air Force.

Nicu Fălcoi told us: "I don't think that so many Russian drones have gotten out of control. It is an attempt by Russia to test the solidarity of the European Union and NATO. Poland did the right thing by shooting down the drones, maybe it should have done it earlier, just like Romania should have done. We will see what happens in the coming days. However, I hope that the reaction of the United States and NATO will not be just formal, but a serious one, a firm warning to Russia. We cannot accept something like this.”

The former military pilot stated that each NATO member state decides for itself, according to its own national defense legislation, when to shoot down a foreign drone that enters its airspace and indicated that a joint NATO decision in this regard could be discussed only if the situation in Poland is repeated in other member states and turns into a real danger, which could be defined as an attack on the Alliance.

In conclusion, in light of the above information, until we have a complete analysis from the Polish authorities, we can only say this: what happened on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday does not seem to have been a mistake by the Russian military, but rather a test of the reaction capacity of Poland and, indirectly, of NATO.