After the violation of the Polish airspace by Russian drones, Poland invokes article 4 of NATO, unanimously the European condemnation, while Moscow declares itself “ready to confront Warsaw” on the incident
Desired provocation, side effect of the electronic war or a raid to probe the defenses and the reaction times of NATO. All the options remain on the table regarding the night attack that occurred this night in the west of Ukraine, an attack that saw about twenty drones violate the Polish airspace.
In the images circulated on the net, it is deduced that the Russian drones, partly demolished by the Polish fighters with the help of NATO air vehicles, was of the “Gerbera” type, used by Moscow mainly in the role of “bait drone”, usually without explosive head, used to overwhelm the opposing air defense.
Except for minor damage to the roof of a house in the village of Wyryki, in the east of the country, no damage was recorded to civilians or infrastructures. In the morning NATO, cited by Reuters, had made it known that he did not consider the action as a deliberate attack, while considering it a “voluntary action”.
The reactions of Warsaw and the invocation of article 4
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk defined the incident an “unprecedented act of aggression” which created “a real threat to the safety of our civilians”. After consultations with President Karol Nawrocki, a supreme commander of the Armed Forces, Poland has formally requested the activation of article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which allows consultations between the allies when a member perceives a threat to his safety.
“The fact that these drones, which represented a direct threat to our security, have been demolished is a success for our strengths and those of NATO, but also changes the political situation,” said Tusk before the Polish Parliament. Article 4, invoked only seven times from the foundation of the alliance in 1949, had been used the last time by several member countries, including Poland, in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During the NATO consultations, Warsaw clarified that he was expecting a “significantly greater support” for the defense of his airspace. Even Belarusia, ally of Moscow, offered its version of the events, through the Chief of Staff Pavel Muraveiko, who claimed that the drones had “lost the course due to the electronic war made by both sides”. Minsk said he had hit some drones in his aerial space and that he informed Poland and Lithuania of the approach of the unanswered aircraft, facilitating the Polish response.
The declarations of European leaders
The violation of the Polish airspace has triggered a series of convictions by the European leaders, who played the episode as a voluntary escalation of the Russian conflict. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen defined the incident “a reckless and unprecedented violation of the Polish and European aerial space by over ten Russian Shad drones (as mentioned, it was Gerbera, not the much more powerful Shahed), expressing” full solidarity with Poland “.
Even the capable of EU’s foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, has characterized the accident as “the most serious violation of the European airspace by Russia since the beginning of the conflict”, with indications that suggest “intentional, not accidental”. Finally, Kallas warned that “Russia’s war is intensifying, not concluding”.
The French president Emmanuel Macron, struggling with an unprecedented political crisis at home, has however found time to define the “simply unacceptable” incursion, reiterating “full solidarity” to the Polish people.
Even the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni condemned what he called “a serious and unacceptable violation” of the NATO airspace, ensuring that “Italy will continue to work to guarantee European security”.
The Cremlin’s response
Moscow has adopted a line of substantial denial and minimization of the incident. The spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitri Peskov refused to comment on the accident, declaring that “we would prefer not to comment, it is not our competence, it is the prerogative of the Ministry of Defense”. Peskov has liquidated the accusations of provocation by claiming that “the leaders of the EU and NATO accuse Russia of provocations daily, usually without even trying to present any type of reasoning”.
The Russian businessman in Warsaw, Andrei Ordash, summoned by the Polish Foreign Ministry, categorically denied the Russian origin of the dried drones. “There have been no evidence that these drones are of Russian origin,” said Ordash to the Russian state media after the meeting. The Russian diplomat indeed overturned the accusations, claiming that “we know one thing: these drones flew from the side of Ukraine”.
In the afternoon, the Russian Ministry of Defense said: “There was no intention to engage objectives on the Polish territory. The maximum scope of the drones used is 700 kilometers, nevertheless, we are ready to deal with the Polish Ministry of Defense ».
