Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, has said that the country is working with its allies to take tough measures following the violation of Polish airspace by several Russian drones last week.
In the middle of last week, drones coming from Belarus and Ukraine entered Polish airspace before being shot down. The drones, which Warsaw confirmed were of Russian origin, were part of a large-scale aerial assault targeting several sites in eastern Ukraine.
Although Russian officials have denied deliberately targeting Poland, Sikorski rejected this version, arguing that the incident was a way for Vladimir Putin to test NATO’s response.
“Such incidents have happened before, but this time our airspace was violated on purpose,” the minister told Newsweek.
“It was not a mistake. It was a seven-hour-long air operation, 21 drones. The Russian Ministry of Defence says this was an accident, and the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations claims it was technically impossible for those drones to fly more than 700 km,” he added.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has taken drastic steps to bolster its national security, including significantly increasing defence spending, which is expected to reach 4.7% of GDP this year.
