Russian drones in Poland
What conclusion can we draw from Russia’s Shahed drone incursions into Poland? If these actions should be considered as an attack on Poland?
"Yes, there is no question that Russia has attacked Poland, Russia has violated the sovereign skies and territory of a NATO Ally, probing Allied defenses and testing Allied political will. NATO must respond", states COL Ray Wojcik in the interview with PolskieRadio24.pl.
On the night of September 9-10, 19 Russian drones flew into Poland, some via Belarusian territory. Some were shot down. So far, the remains of 16 of them have been found in four voivodeships.
COL Ray Wojcik, former military attache at the US embassy in Warsaw, says that "since Russia initiated its brutal full-scale war on Ukraine aerial objects entering Poland’s airspace are becoming increasingly more frequent, endangering the lives of Polish citizens. Russia denies or claims these objects are "errant."
And, as he reminds, last month, "Russia violated Poland’s sovereign skies with a Shahed drone which violently exploded in Osiny, damaging nearby homes. It was a near miss for Polish civilians". "This time, in Wyryki, a home and car were seriously damaged during Russia’s drone barrage. Due to their quick reaction and skill, Polish pilots destroyed the enemy drones. Allies also contributed support during the mission", COL Wojcik adds.
The question is what we should do as NATO? What answer should we present?
"Poland has invoked Article IV of the NATO Treaty, which calls for security consultations with Alliance members to hear concerns about Russia’s growing threat against Poland and other Allies including actions to be taken. Since NATO was founded in 1949, Article IV has been invoked only 8 times, indicating the seriousness of the undertaking", COL Ray Wojcik says.
"It is not clear what the discussions at NATO will bring, but I will share my view on what the results should include", he notes.
And COL Wojcik recommends as follows:
- A united strong declaration of condemnation of what Russia has done in this unprovoked attack on a NATO Ally. This must include NATO’s planned response and planned actions if Russia’s aggression continues against NATO.
- Western Allies commit to deploying all available counter-drone and Air Missile Defense units to Poland, and to other Allies in the region.
- NATO takes steps with Ukraine, to finally implement a No-Fly-Zone (NFZ) over the non-contested territory of Ukraine. This will be complicated, but as it develops will deter Russia, and the NFZ will ensure that Russia knows it cannot conquer Ukraine.
- The United States and European nations commit to tightening the noose of sanctions on Russia to crush Moscow’s war machine. This means USA secondary sanctions on China for importing sanctioned Russian oil. Meanwhile, Europe must commit to rapidly de-couple from Russian refined oil products and Russian LNG.
- Allies commit to seize ~$300Billion in frozen Russian assets in western banks to use to support Ukraine.
- NATO establishes robust rules of engagement to shutdown Russia’s Shadow fleet which funds Russia’s war machine.
- NATO decides to abolish the NATO Russia Founding Act. This Act has been defunct for years, due to multiple Russian violations, yet NATO has not officially abandoned it. This sends a clear message to Russia that the era of reasonable NATO-Russia cooperation is over, especially regarding the security of Central and Eastern Europe.
- NATO and the USA prioritize rapid production of drone, counter-drone and Air and Missile Defense capabilities.
- Western Allies commit to follow-through on their 2022 commitment to "Forward Defense" along NATO’s Eastern-Flank.
- The United States should make its military presence in Poland permanent, and robust to include: Drone, Counter-Drone and Electronic Warfare units; a U.S. Air Force F35 Squadron, the entire U.S. Army V Corps Headquarters (HQ). An Army Division HQ. Two heavy combat brigades. Additionally, U.S. units with these capabilities need to be assigned to Poland: THAAD long range Air/Missile Defense system; Patriot Air/Missile Defense systems; HIMARS - Rocket Artillery systems; and Apache Attack Aviation units.
PolskieRadio24.pl/in./
