NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reacted sharply after the recent incident where several Russian drones violated Polish airspace, describing the action as "reckless behavior," regardless of whether or not it was intentional on Moscow's part.
In an official statement from NATO headquarters, Rutte confirmed that allies have expressed full solidarity with Poland, while a full assessment of the incident is being conducted by the Alliance's military structures. "This is a serious violation of the airspace of a member state and will not be tolerated," he said.
According to Rutte, several NATO member states, including the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany, participated in the operation to shoot down Russian drones that penetrated Alliance territory. This is one of the most coordinated international responses to such an incident in recent years.
The incident occurred in the context of a major Russian airstrike on Ukraine, where overnight Russia launched a total of 415 drones, some of which ended up in Polish airspace.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that “Poland is closer to an open conflict than it has ever been since World War II.” He confirmed that four of the nineteen drones that violated Polish airspace were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft, marking the first time that Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of an Alliance member country.
The incident has sharply increased tensions on NATO's eastern border and prompted calls for strengthened air defenses along the Alliance's eastern flank. Allies are expected to convene an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council to discuss next steps.
