Slovak foreign minister Juraj Blanár stated that the overnight drone strike on Poland was a serious escalation and expressed hope that the unmanned aircraft were in fact “supposed to end up in Ukraine”. This was reported by , reports The WP Times, citing Denník N.
Blanár stressed that Slovakia regarded the situation as a “serious deterioration and escalation”. However, he voiced hope that the circumstances would be clarified and the situation would not spiral further. “I believe that the Russian drones over Poland were in fact destined for Ukraine and did not arrive in Poland with the aim of attack,” the Slovak chief diplomat said.
He also highlighted the “urgent need” for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Earlier, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico stated that it was necessary to “objectively determine” whether the drones’ entry into Polish territory had been intentional or accidental, and under whose control they were.
Background on drones over Poland
On the night of 10 September, Russia once again attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles. Several UAVs crossed into Polish airspace. For the first time, combat aircraft were deployed to counter them. Four Polish airports were temporarily closed.
The Polish Territorial Defence Forces announced that the mobilisation time for reservists in some border regions could be shortened. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, at least eight Russian drones entered Poland. Prime minister Donald Tusk said there had been at least 19 violations of Polish airspace, stressing that the drones had come directly from Belarus rather than from Ukraine due to “errors or small Russian provocations”.
Altogether, Polish and allied forces tracked dozens of targets, some posing potential threats. Wreckage from seven drones and another “object of unknown origin” has been found in Poland so far. The Polish military described the incident as an “act of aggression”. In the morning, Tusk announced that Poland had invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which calls for consultations among allies when any member believes its territorial integrity or security is under threat.
Russia’s defence ministry, however, claimed that all planned targets in Ukraine were hit during the night attack and insisted that no strikes in Poland had been intended.
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