In a Fox News interview released Thursday, Trump was asked whether he still believed last week’s incursion might have been accidental.
“I can’t comment on whether it was a mistake or not. They shouldn’t have been there, let’s face it [...] let’s hope it was that,” he said.
Trump drew criticism in Poland after initially suggesting Russia’s breach of Polish territory could have been an error. Polish and European officials have insisted it was deliberate.
Asked if the United States would deploy jets like Britain to help secure Polish skies, Trump said Washington was “helping intelligence wise,” adding that when he previously mentioned help by air he meant security “after the war is settled.”
“After the [Ukraine] war is settled, we would help secure the peace. And I think ultimately that’ll happen,” he said.
Around 20 Russian drones crossed into Poland last week, heightening tensions in a region on edge since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned at the time the incidents were “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II,” as Western jets engaged Russian targets for the first time during the war.
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Source: PAP