Poland on Wednesday invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which calls for urgent consultations among allies when a member's security is threatened, after Russian drones repeatedly violated Polish airspace overnight.
"Spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation in today’s situation is acting to the detriment of the Polish state, directly targeting the security of our homeland and citizens,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X on Thursday.
“Stupidity, and especially political views, should not be treated as mitigating circumstances,” he added.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said that disinformation serves Russia’s interests.
“At a time of threat we should stand together. Those who exploit the Russian drone attacks to destroy unity and spread disinformation are, at best, useful idiots for the Kremlin,” he wrote.
Polish authorities say Russian drones breached the country’s airspace 19 times during an overnight attack on Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday, with some flying in from Belarus.
The military said the incidents marked an “act of aggression” and an “unprecedented event.”
Defence systems shot down drones deemed a threat, and search teams have so far recovered debris from 16 drones, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish military urged caution online, warning that Moscow and its allies were amplifying disinformation after the incident.
“Stay calm but aware. Beware of disinformation,” the General Staff wrote, pointing to fake accounts and posts questioning Poland’s defenses and NATO’s response.
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Russia and Belarus were behind a growing wave of online activity aimed at shifting blame for the drone incidents onto Ukraine and discrediting Polish security services.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday that the attacks showed Poland and NATO could not be intimidated.
"What Poles experienced last night, Ukrainians endure almost every night on a much greater and more tragic scale," he said, urging solidarity with Kyiv and warning against repeating Russian disinformation.
Officials also cautioned against alarmist claims on social media suggesting Poland was already at war or that major cities had been attacked.
Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for Poland's security services, urged people not to believe "fake photos and videos of drones supposedly burning in Polish cities," stressing that only information from official government and military sources can be trusted.
Poland’s digital ministry said citizens should treat all online information with caution, verify sources before sharing, and rely on official channels for updates.
Poland, a NATO and EU member bordering Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, has previously reported missile and drone incursions since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info
Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski.