Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pledged a sweeping modernisation of the country’s armed forces after Russian drones breached Polish airspace during an aerial assault on Ukraine, prompting NATO forces to intervene.
Speaking to troops at an airbase in Lask on Wednesday, Tusk described the incident as “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II,” though he stressed there was “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war.”
Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency announced new flight restrictions along its borders with Belarus and Ukraine, effective until December 9. Civilian drones are banned, while small aircraft and helicopters may fly only in daylight and with tracking equipment.
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European officials said the incursion was a deliberate provocation, underscoring the growing threat Moscow poses to NATO’s eastern flank. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a tougher response, warning the move was likely aimed at slowing Western air defence deliveries to Kyiv ahead of winter. He also urged allies to rethink air defence strategies, noting that expensive missile systems are being used to shoot down relatively cheap drones.
Visiting Kyiv, Finnish President Alexander Stubb accused Hungary and Slovakia of “funding the Kremlin’s war machine” through continued purchases of Russian oil and gas. He argued Moscow was “seeking escalation” with NATO and backed calls for stronger European measures against Russia.
Poland said some of the drones entered its territory from Belarus, where joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises are set to begin on Friday. Warsaw has moved to close its border with Belarus at midnight Thursday, though China has urged Poland to keep open a key freight rail corridor used for China-EU trade.
In response to the incursion, Dutch forces operating in Poland also scrambled to intercept drones. The Netherlands summoned Russia’s ambassador over the incident, while Polish President Karol Nawrocki declared in Poznan: “Poland doesn’t get scared by Russian drones.”