Poland, a NATO member, has already requested the Alliance to invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty due to the incursion of Russian drones into the countryʼs airspace on the night of September 10.
This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. His words are reported by the Polish publication Onet.
Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides that NATO member states will hold joint consultations if, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
"Article 4 is just a prelude to deeper cooperation, and words are not enough. We are counting on much greater support during the consultations. This is not our war, this is not just a war for Ukrainians, this is a war, this is a confrontation that Russia has declared to the entire free world," Tusk said.
NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart told Sospilny that the North Atlantic Council is meeting today to discuss how the Alliance should respond to the drone incursion into Polish territory.
Meanwhile, NATO officially stated that the Secretary General of the Alliance is in contact with the Polish leadership after “numerous drones violated Polish airspace”. However, they did not specify whose UAVs they were.
- During Russiaʼs attack on Ukraine on the night of September 10, drones flew into Poland — weapons from aircraft were used against them. This is the first time that Polish aviation has shot down drones that violated the countryʼs airspace.
- According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at least 8 UAVs crossed the state border of Ukraine towards Poland.
- The authorities called the incident an “act of aggression”. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces noted that Polish and allied forces recorded dozens of targets using radars — some of which could pose a threat. Some of the UAVs were shot down. They are currently searching for the crash sites of the drones.
- The Polish publication Polsat News writes that in Wyryki (Lublin Voivodeship), debris from one of the drones hit a residential building and damaged the roof of the building and a car. No people were injured.
- Reuters, citing a NATO source, writes that the Alliance does not consider the drone incursion into Polish territory as an attack.
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