Drone attack on Poland may be part of Russian and Belarusian exercises - Zelenskyy

According to him, starting from the first hour after midnight, Ukrainian forces recorded the movement of Russian drones toward the Polish border.

Zelenskyy emphasized that this was not an accident or a mistake, but a deliberate movement.

"The Russians used both our territory and the territory of Belarus to enter Polish airspace. Nearly two dozen drones entered Poland, and from the Ukrainian side, they seem to have directed less than half of the total number. This was a calculated Russian activity. And we can see the result — how difficult it was to deal with it," he said.

The President noted that Ukraine had offered Poland the necessary assistance in countering Russian drones.

"No one can guarantee that there won’t be hundreds if there are already dozens of drones. Only joint European forces can provide protection. We are ready to help with technology, crew training, and the necessary intelligence," Zelenskyy added.

At the same time, he pointed out that so far, Russia has not faced a strong response in action from global leaders to what it is doing.

"There are more than enough statements, but actions are still in short supply. The Russians are testing the limits of what is possible. They are testing the reaction. They are observing how NATO countries’ armed forces act, what they can and what they cannot do yet. Joint exercises with the Russians have begun on Belarusian territory, and this may be part of the so-called exercise plan," the President stressed.

Drone attack on Poland

During the attack on Ukraine on the night of September 10, some Russian drones entered Polish airspace. Poland’s air defense began shooting down aerial targets.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that a total of 19 Russian drones were detected in the country’s airspace that night. Four of them were successfully shot down.

Later, it became known that the wreckage of the downed drones was found in 11 Polish settlements. One of them crashed on the territory of a Territorial Defense Forces unit.

In response to the Russian attack, NATO invoked Article 4. This will allow member states to discuss the situation with allies in the North Atlantic Council.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, called the Alliance’s reaction to the incident in Poland "very successful." He stressed that the past night demonstrated NATO’s readiness to defend every inch of its territory, including its airspace.

The Russian Defense Ministry, in response to NATO countries’ statements, falsely claimed that the range of the drones that attacked Poland supposedly "does not exceed 700 kilometers" and asserted that "no strikes were planned" against targets in Poland.

What lies behind the Kremlin’s actions, why this happened now, and how NATO may respond — read in the RBC-Ukraine material.