Only toughest counter-pressures work with liar like Putin - Poland’s Foreign Minister
Photo: Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (Getty Images)
Poland is preparing a tougher response to Russian drone attacks that violated the country’s airspace last week, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski reports.
“The drones didn’t reach their targets, and there was minor damage to property; nobody was hurt. If it happened in Ukraine, by Ukrainian definitions, that would be regarded as a 100% success,” Sikorski said.
On Friday, NATO announced it would deploy more aircraft to the alliance’s eastern flank to defend against future drone attacks. By Saturday, Polish and allied aircraft were again deployed in response to renewed drone strike threats in western Ukraine.
The airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed again, and residents of border areas received SMS alerts to exercise caution. However, this time, no airspace violation was reported.
However, Sikorski stated that Poland’s reaction would have been “much tougher” if last week’s attack had caused casualties or deaths on its territory, but declined to specify what such a response might look like in a future scenario.
“With an aggressor and a liar like Putin, only the toughest counter-pressures work,” the Polish Foreign Minister stressed.
Drone attack on Poland
On the night of September 10, during a massive Russian strike on Ukraine, about 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace. Polish air defenses managed to shoot down only four UAVs.
However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance’s response to the incident in Poland was “very successful.”
Rutte emphasized that the case demonstrated NATO’s readiness to defend every inch of its territory, including its airspace.
Meanwhile, according to the latest information, Polish authorities have found the wreckage of 16 Russian UAVs that entered their territory during the attack. One drone crashed on a military base.
On the evening of September 13, Romania and Poland declared air alerts due to the threat of Russian attack drones. The UAVs entered the territory of both NATO countries.
However, the Romanian Air Force intercepted a Russian drone in national airspace.
Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the drone for about 20 kilometers but did not shoot it down.
