Poland’s president said Tuesday that his country was ready to “defend its territory” after an incident that saw Warsaw accuse Russia of violating its airspace with unmanned drones.
His intervention came after the drone incident as well as an incursion by Russian military jets into Estonia’s airspace that prompted a furious response from the NATO alliance, of which Poland is a member.
“Poland will always react adequately, and it stands ready to defend its territory,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki said at the UN General Assembly, adding that the “Polish people, as well as countries of Central and Eastern Europe, will not be scared of Russian drones.”
“We do not consent to Moscow’s ruthless acts of provocation against us and other European nations, testing our reactions and intimidating our societies.”
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that NATO nations should shoot down Russian planes breaching their territory.
Armed Russian fighter jets last Friday violated Estonian airspace for 12 minutes, causing NATO to scramble jets and Tallinn to call for alliance talks.
That incident came just over a week after Poland launched NATO consultations after Russian drones were shot down over eastern Poland.
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