Donald Tusk said on Thursday that responsibility lay with Russia and that European allies view the breach of Polish airspace as a common concern.
Tusk spoke after a meeting of the National Security Council, an advisory body to the president on internal and external security.
The session was convened by President Karol Nawrocki after 19 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Polish and allied aircraft used force to counter them for the first time in modern Polish history.
The prime minister said Poland had responded patiently and cautiously to "various provocations" because, as a member of NATO, it shares responsibility for maintaining peace.
He added that in calls with European leaders he had received words of support and practical offers of assistance.
He pointed to closer cooperation with Ukraine on anti-drone systems and said France and Britain had signalled support for strengthening Poland’s air defences.
Tusk announced that Poland plans to use money from the European Union’s SAFE programme for defence investment to work with Ukraine on updating Poland’s air defence architecture. He said funding would not be a barrier.
He added that Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski had travelled to Kyiv for talks on the issue and that Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz would go next week.
The prime minister further said there was broad political agreement around decisions taken during the overnight response to the drones, but he warned about Russian propaganda and those in Poland who help to spread it.
He said the government, the armed forces, the security services and the president were united in rejecting claims that Ukraine staged a provocation, adding that Poland’s information points clearly to Russia’s responsibility for the events in Polish skies.
Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of the president's National Security Bureau (BBN), said after Thursday's meeting of the National Security Council (RBN) at the Presidential Palace that the Russian drone attack had united Poland’s political elite.
He said Poland’s main centres of power were talking in a good atmosphere and that many false reports flooding Poland’s information space had been corrected, including the origin of the drones.
Marcin Przydacz, the president’s top international affairs adviser, said the incursion had triggered appropriate reactions from allies, who had been briefed on Wednesday and Thursday, including the United States.
He cited Nawrocki’s recent talks in Washington, where US President Donald Trump said he would not limit American military presence in Poland and that it could even grow.
Przydacz said there was unity among allies in assessing Russia’s aims, which he described as sowing divisions within NATO and inside Poland, and argued those goals had not been achieved.
Poland on Friday closed all of its border crossings with Russia's ally Belarus, citing security concerns as Russia and Belarus begin their Zapad (West) military exercises.
Tusk acknowledged the economic and personal inconvenience the closures would cause but called the step necessary for safety.
The prime minister added that Warsaw welcomed clear demonstrations of solidarity from all allies after the September 10 incident.
He said it would be humiliating if anyone tried to blur Russia’s responsibility for tensions in the region and argued that Poland’s information leaves no doubt about who planned and carried out the operation.
Przydacz said the West should consider concrete diplomatic responses, including further sanctions that hit the core of Russia’s economy, while noting that such measures must be worked through with partners and communicated properly.
Tusk also said he had received assurances in a brief exchange with the president of full support from the United States, though he noted that many would prefer more explicit public statements from Washington and voiced concern about comments from Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and some politicians across the Atlantic who argue against isolating Russia after a "provocation against a NATO state."
Poland’s National Security Council is chaired by the president and brings together the Speakers of both houses of parliament, the prime minister, the foreign, defence and interior ministers, the minister coordinating the security services, leaders of parties with parliamentary groups, and the heads of the President's Office and the National Security Bureau.
The president calls National Security Council meetings and sets their agenda.
Tusk said last week that Poland would respond immediately with force to any violation of its airspace.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP