Poland activates Article 4 as Russia ‘tests’ NATO with drone incursion

BERLIN: With Poland activating Article 4 of NATO to hold consultations with allies after downing Russian drones inside its territory, the German government said Wednesday Moscow was “testing” Ukraine’s allies.

On the other hand, Russia accused Poland of spreading “myths” and lacking evidence, and said Warsaw had failed to provide any evidence about the origins of drones.

Government spokesman Sebastian Hille told reporters that the incident “once again shows the threat that we face” and how much Germany and other NATO countries “are being tested by Russia”.

Also on Wednesday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Russian drones that violated Polish airspace were “clearly set on this course” and “did not have to fly this route to reach Ukraine”.

“There is absolutely no reason to believe that this was a course correction error or anything of the sort,” Pistorius told the German parliament.

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POLITICAL SITUATION IS ‘CHANGED’

Earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland gathered its NATO allies for urgent talks on Wednesday, after Russian drones flew into Polish airspace in an overnight attack on Ukraine.

“The shooting down of drones threatening our security is a success for Polish and NATO forces, which simultaneously changes the political situation,” Tusk said.

“In this regard, allied consultations have taken the form of a formal request to activate Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty,” he added.

Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides for the possibility of joint consultations between NATO allies “whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened”.

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Tusk denounced the “large-scale provocation”, saying Poland had identified 19 violations of its airspace and shot down at least three drones after scrambling aircraft alongside allies, adding that no one was harmed.

Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members — including Poland — several times during Russia’s three-and-a-half-year war, but a NATO country has never attempted to shoot them down.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on social media that the airspace violation was a “dangerous precedent” for Europe, saying it was “no accident”, and urged a strong response from Kyiv’s Western allies.

Poland’s interior ministry said that a house and a car had been damaged overnight, adding that seven drones and debris from an unknown projectile had so far been located.

PUTIN READY TO INVADE MORE COUNTRIES

The incursion came as Russia unleashed a barrage of strikes across Ukraine, including in the western city of Lviv, around 50 miles (80 kilometres) from the Polish border.

Polish authorities had temporarily closed the airspace over part of the country following the incident.

It came a day after Poland’s newly-elected nationalist President Karol Nawrocki warned that Putin was ready to invade more countries after launching his war in Ukraine.

“We do not trust Vladimir Putin’s good intentions,” Nawrocki told reporters Tuesday. “We believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to also invade other countries.”

WHAT DOES RUSSIA SAY

Repeating a statement by Russia’s military that it had not targeted Poland and that its drones had a range of 700 kilometres (435 miles), Russia’s foreign ministry said: “These concrete facts fully debunk the myths once again being spread by Poland to further escalate the Ukraine crisis.”

The Russian embassy in Warsaw separately told AFP that “Poland has failed to provide evidence of the Russian origin of the objects that entered Polish airspace.”

It’s a developing story. Details to follow.