VLADIMIR Putin’s drones that invaded Poland’s airspace were reportedly headed towards a Nato base.
Five of the drones were on a “direct path” to the base in a move Volodymyr Zelensky said was aimed at slowing supplies of air defences to Ukraine ahead of winter.
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The drones, which entered Polish airspace on Wednesday morning, forced Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.
It marked the first time since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that Nato has directly engaged with Vlad’s forces.
The Polish site the drones are thought to have been targetting is providing military supplies to Ukraine, German newspaper Die Welt reported.
Citing a high-ranking Nato officer the paper said: “Based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered Nato airspace.”
According to Zelensky, the swooping drones were a “test” by Russia to see how Nato allies would respond.
Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK yesterday vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s challenge and Nato vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land.
Defence Secretary John Healey condemned Russia’s “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented” escalation after meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy – with Poland’s defence minister diverted by the crisis.
He said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”
The UK already has around 300 troops in Poland as part of a “regular air policing mission” – and Healey vowed to “do what we can” to make that more robust.
That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.
Healey added: “Russia’s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented. We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.”
Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace and slammed it as proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.
He said he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk to show Britain’s support, adding: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”
No10 also confirmed the RAF played no part in the Nato emergency response to the Russian drones, after our six Typhoons were rotated out of Poland in July.
Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.
He said four were shot down by Nato fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherland the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said the Security Council met this morning to discuss Poland’s request for Article 4.
He said: “Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory.”
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