Russian drone attack on Poland highlights NATO’s air defense vulnerabilities - Mertz
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Photo: Getty Images)
The incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace is a deliberate provocation by the Kremlin. NATO's air defense responded, but not effectively enough to prevent a mass breach of the border, states German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to the Chancellor, the incident is another stage in a series of Russian provocations that have been recorded for months in the Baltic region and on NATO's eastern flank.
He emphasized that the drone attack poses a serious threat to peace in Europe and confirms the deliberate nature of Moscow’s actions.
The Chancellor supported Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s statement regarding the deliberate nature of the incursion and rejected the Kremlin’s claims that it was an accident or a coincidence of circumstances.
Air defense system needs reform
Merz paid particular attention to the state of NATO’s air defense system. According to him, the drone incident demonstrated the urgent need for a significant reform of the Alliance’s air defense in Europe.
"First of all, I would like to note that European air defense, NATO air defense, worked, but of course not as well as it should have in order to prevent such a large number of drones from entering Polish airspace early enough," he said.
The Chancellor emphasized that this is a serious signal for allies and should trigger an in-depth discussion within both NATO and the European Union.
"We are and will remain determined to significantly increase the defense readiness and defense capabilities of the European part of NATO," Merz added.
Incursion of Russian Shahed drones into Poland
On the night of September 10, around 20 Russian attack drones entered Polish airspace from the direction of Ukraine and Belarus. Air defense and aviation managed to shoot down only 4 of them.
One of the enemy drones damaged a residential building in the village of Wyryki in Lublin Voivodeship. Another drone hit the territory of a military base, but without detonation.
In total, debris from 16 Russian drones was found in the eastern border regions near Ukraine.
Additionally, fragments of an unidentified missile and seven Russian drones, presumably Gerber models, were discovered.
For more details on the reasons behind the mass drone incursion and NATO’s likely response, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
