Polish PM Tusk vows military upgrade after Russian drone incursion

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pledged to propulsion up with a “great modernisation programme” for his country’s military, a time aft Polish and NATO forces changeable down drones violating the country’s airspace during a Russian aerial onslaught connected neighbouring Ukraine.

The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency announced connected Thursday that Poland had introduced aerial postulation restrictions on its eastbound borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It said the measurement was taken astatine the petition of the Polish service for nationalist information reasons, but did not elaborate.

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The restrictions volition use until December 9, Polish aerial postulation authorities said. Under the rules, civilian unmanned aircraft, specified arsenic drones, are banned; wide aviation – chiefly tiny and recreational craft and helicopters – tin run during the time provided they person a vigor and transponder, but cannot alert astatine night.

Tusk said connected Wednesday that the drone incursion incidental was “the closest we person been to unfastened struggle since World War II,” though helium besides said helium had “no crushed to judge we’re connected the brink of war”.

European officials described Wednesday’s incursion, which occurred during a question of caller relentless Russian strikes connected Ukraine, arsenic a deliberate provocation, forcing the NATO confederation to face a imaginable menace successful its airspace for the archetypal time. Neither Poland nor NATO has yet fixed a afloat relationship of what they fishy the drones were doing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed Kyiv’s allies connected Thursday for a tougher effect to the incursion into Poland, saying the determination was apt aimed astatine slowing supplies of aerial defences to Ukraine up of this winter.

Zelenskyy, speaking astatine a briefing successful Kyiv alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, besides urged allies to rethink their ain aerial defence capabilities, adding that missile-based systems are excessively costly to usage against cheaper drones.

For his part, Stubb accused Hungary and Slovakia of backing the Kremlin’s “war machine” by buying Russian lipid and gas, successful 1 of his sharpest rebukes yet of his chap European Union members.

Stubb besides said the crossing of Russian drones into Poland showed Moscow was “seeking escalation” with NATO and that Europe needed to enactment further unit connected Russia.

“As acold arsenic getting our ain location successful order, I deliberation [US] President [Donald] Trump, erstwhile helium says that Europe needs to halt buying Russian lipid and gas, is right,” Stubb told reporters.

“The digit points successful 2 places. One is Hungary and the different 1 is Slovakia. And, of course, we marque definite that President Trump is alert of who is feeding the Russian warfare instrumentality by buying Russian energy,” helium added.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico person some criticised European assistance for Ukraine and sought person ties with Russia, to the vexation of Brussels.

Poland said immoderate of the drones that entered its airspace connected Wednesday came from Belarus, wherever Russian and section troops person begun gathering for warfare games scheduled to commencement connected Friday. Poland is closing its borderline with Belarus astatine midnight connected Thursday, a planned determination besides associated with the subject exercises.

Underscoring the planetary repercussions of the war, China connected Thursday urged Poland to support unfastened a conception of the Belarus borderline for a China-EU freight way that crosses it. The obstruction enactment is portion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative to boost commercialized with different countries.

Soldiers patrol the streets aft a drone oregon akin entity struck a residential gathering pursuing violations of Polish airspace during a Russian onslaught connected Ukraine, successful Wyryki municipality, Poland, connected September 10, 2025 [Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Jakub Orzechowski/via Reuters]

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Tusk addressed Polish troops astatine an airbase successful the cardinal metropolis of Lask, praising their speedy enactment and that of NATO allied forces from the Netherlands that responded to the Russian drone incursions.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel announced connected Thursday that his authorities had summoned Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands implicit the incident.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, meanwhile, visited the Poznan-Krzesiny basal successful occidental Poland connected Thursday and struck a defiant tone. Poland “doesn’t get frightened by Russian drones”, helium said successful a statement.

Nawrocki described the incursion arsenic “an effort to trial our abilities, the quality to react”.

He was besides owed to convene Poland’s nationalist information council, which advises him connected information threats.

The Kremlin said it had thing to adhd to a connection connected Wednesday by Russia’s Defence Ministry, which insisted that Russian forces had not targeted Poland and that it was unfastened to discussing the incidental with Polish officials.

It besides dismissed speech of the incursion being a provocation. “The statements we perceive from Warsaw: well, they’re thing new. This rhetoric is emblematic of astir each European capitals,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an exigency gathering connected the drone incursion connected Friday day astatine Poland’s request.

Polish airspace has been violated galore times since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, but ne'er connected this standard successful Poland oregon anyplace other successful NATO territory. Wednesday’s incidental was the archetypal clip a NATO subordinate is known to person fired shots during Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.

Russian drone attacks connected civilian areas are regular occurrences successful Ukraine. The Ukrainian subject has successfully developed drones to combat the attacks, called interceptors.

The Ukrainian aerial unit said connected Thursday its forces intercepted 62 retired of 66 Russian onslaught and decoy drones successful the country’s airspace overnight.

In the metropolis of Sumy successful northeastern Ukraine, Russian drones and debris from those intercepted damaged an acquisition facility, flat blocks and the landmark Holy Resurrection Cathedral, determination caput Oleh Hryhorov wrote connected Telegram.