Poland seeks NATO talks after Russian drones downed in its skies

There’s been a potentially major escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russian drones have been shot down over Poland – with Polish leaders describing the incident as an intentional act of aggression, while the Kremlin says Poland wasn’t the target.

NATO fighter jets scrambled over eastern Poland overnight – shooting down some of the 19 Russian drones in Polish skies over a seven hour incursion.

It’s the first time Russian drones have been shot down over a NATO country. While no injuries have been reported, homes were damaged and flights were disrupted.

Polish authorities say the wreckage of at least 16 of the drones have been found some hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told his parliament he has requested the invocation of NATO Article 4 – the clause that allows a member to convene a meeting of allies to discuss a security threat.

NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte is condemning the violation of Polish airspace.

“Whether it was intentionally or not, it is absolutely reckless,” said Rutte.

And so are Poland’s allied neighbours in Europe.

“Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland,” said EU Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen

“I’ve been in touch with the Polish prime minister this morning to make clear our support for Poland,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney calls the incursion reckless and escalatory – saying it shows Russian president Vladimir Putin’s disregard for peace – a sentiment echoed by his ministers.

“Canada stands firmly with Poland, with our NATO allies and of course with Ukraine,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.

The drones downed in Poland were part of a wave of Russian strikes that hit buildings in central and western Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president says the drones were recorded deliberately moving into Poland.

“And this movement was not an accident or a mistake, it was deliberate,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia says it was aiming at Ukraine, while Kremlin-ally Belarus says some of the drones lost their course and ended up in Poland due to jamming.

“It just doesn’t wash as an accident to have that many cross over,” said Jane Boulden, professor from the Royal Military College of Canada.

Boulden thinks the incursion was no accident – saying Putin has been emboldened by his recent embrace by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the world stage, and that has him acting more boldly to achieve his military goals in Ukraine.

“The signals are not good in that he’s feeling strong, he’s feeling unconstrained internationally, and in that sense we need to be worried about what’s coming next,” said Boulden.

U.S. President Donald Trump hasn’t said much about the drone strike, saying only on social media, “here we go.”

Meanwhile, troops from Russia and Belarus will begin war games in Belarus on Friday.

The last time those two nations held a major military training exercise was just days before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

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