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Russian drone incursion was Kremlin test of NATO, Polish FM says

15.09.2025 07:45
Russia’s drone incursion into Polish airspace last week was an attempt by the Kremlin to probe NATO’s defences through incremental escalation without triggering a full-scale response, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in Kyiv on Friday.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in Kyiv on Friday.Photo: EPA/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE

Sikorski told Britain's The Guardian newspaper that while the drones were capable of carrying payloads, they were not armed.

“Interestingly, they were all duds, which suggests to me that Russia tried to test us without starting a war,” he said during an interview in Kyiv.

He rejected suggestions that Poland’s air defences were unprepared, despite officials saying only three or four of about 19 drones were shot down and that some penetrated hundreds of kilometres into Polish territory.

“The drones didn’t reach their targets and there was minor damage to property, nobody was hurt,” he said.

On Friday, NATO announced Operation Eastern Sentry, a new mission to strengthen defences along its eastern flank after the Polish incident.

Romania reported a similar drone incursion on Saturday and scrambled two F-16s to monitor the situation, according to the Guardian.

Sikorski said Poland’s response would have been “much tougher” had the attack caused casualties but declined to specify how Warsaw might react in the future.

"With an aggressor and a liar like Putin, only the toughest counter-pressures work," he said.

(gs)

Source: PAPtheguardian.compolskieradio.pl