Here’s what you to know about the Polish shooting of Russian drones

Early Wednesday morning, Poland dropped several Russian drones It broke his airspace during the west of a mass strike Ukraine. Poland Military operation, which Prime Minister Donald Tuski pulled through the message of social media in the early morning, signifies a turning point in the involvement of Warsaw in the conflict that influenced the region for more than two and a half years. The Polish Defense Agency reported the presence of more than ten facilities coming from Ukrainian airspace and It is called a violation “Action act of aggression”.

Poland calls for NATO Article 4

In response to Raid, Poland activated Article 4 of NATO, the Northern Atlantic of the Contract, requires immediate consultation with the Allies. The Tusk urgently convened the meeting of the Council of Ministers at 8.00. year, maintaining constant contact with the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, coordinating the political and diplomatic response.

Article 4 provides a NATO member to collect consultations whenever believes that its safety, territorial integrity or political independence is threatening. Unlike Article 5, which envisages collective military action in case of armed attack, Article 4 does not force immediate military actions, but its activation is significant political escalation, as it emphasizes unity of alliance in response to perceived threats to NATO members.

Poland was already at high warnings for possible aircraft exceeding at least November 2022. year, when the Ukrainian rocket accidentally struck the village in the south of the country, killing two people. So far, there have been no recorded cases of Polish or involvement of defense systems recorded by drones in national territory. Ukrainian president Volodimir Green claimed On Wednesday, “At least eight” Iran who made Iranian shaking “directed towards Poland” during the night attack, suggesting that the intrusion in the Polish airspace was intentional.

She activated NATO’s defense

Residents affected by Polish areas reported that hearing explosions in the sky during the night, followed by activating the warning. The warning was accurately launched during a large Russian attack on the western regions of Ukraine, especially those in Volin and Lviv that directly border border Poland is directly.

According to the data published by Polish military commands, national and NATO air anti-air systems were activated immediately after radarov discovered the entry of drone plane to the Polish air space. Interception operation continued for several hours, and armed forces are neutralized facilities that are considered dangerous using air defense system. The pursuit of the wreck of diseased drones is still ongoing in the eastern parts of the country by Wednesday.

Airports are temporarily closed

The intervention led to the temporary closure of four airports, including Warsaw-Chopin and Lublin, as well as Rzeszov Airport, which became a key environment to send Western military aid in Ukraine in the last two years. United States of Federal Aeronautics Administration confirmed Temporary closure of Polish airports for “unplanned military activity related to national security”.

Russian drone stroke also hit Eastern Ukraine hard: According to BBC reports Stating local Ukrainian officials, 24 people were killed and 19 wounded in the air attack in the village in the Donječka region, where victims stood in accordance with the collection of their pensions. The incident follows, especially the intensive phase of the conflict, where the troops of Moscow are slow, but stably insulting in most donors, in western Ukraine. Meanwhile, diplomatic attempts to reach the peace agreement in essence stalled, and contacts between Washington and Moscow have not created concrete results in recent months.

Growing tensions

The incident comes during a certain tension in the region. Only 24 hours before Poland shot Russian drones, the Polish president warned during the press conference in Helsinki that Russian president of Vladimir Putin would be ready to attack other countries after aggression on Ukression. The time of the intrusion takes over even more importance when someone believes that on Friday, 13. September, Russia and Belarus begin joint military exercises called “West”, which have already set Regional Security Concern.

Poland announced on Tuesday that it was Closing the border with Belarus It is precisely in response to what Warsaw calls “very aggressive” maneuvers, in addition to the growing number of Provocations of Moscow and Minsk. The neighboring Lithuania also decided to tighten border controls, a sign of widespread warnings between NATO member states that border Russia and Belarus.

The incident on Wednesday also comes to a delicate time for international diplomacy: American President Donald Trump declared Over the weekend was ready to move on to another phase of sanctions against Russia after several months of unsuccessful negotiations on the peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev. The arranger of drone in Polish territory now risks further complicate any effort in mediation.

This story originally appeared Wired Italia and was translated from Italian.