Western Officials Invoke NATO After Poland Reports Russian Drone Incursion

Western officials are worked up over reports of Russian drones trespassing into Polish airspace on Tuesday. American and European leaders have invoked NATO involvement, with some appearing to suggest it’s time for escalatory action.

The Poles said they shot down at least three Russian drones and prepared their military “for further actions.” They had scrambled fighter jets and involved their air defense system. Their response had support from other NATO nations, according to reports.

President Donald Trump commented on the matter Wednesday. He posted on his Truth Social account, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”

The Russians, for their part, said they didn’t target Poland, they’ve received no evidence the drones in question were theirs, and that this episode is another attempt “by Warsaw to further escalate the Ukrainian crisis.” They also said they were trying to arrange talks with the Poles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expectedly, urged more Western involvement in his country’s war. He said on social media the incident set “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe” and asked Ukraine’s allies to pile more sanctions on Russia. Zelensky also said that he and Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, “agreed on appropriate cooperation at the military level,” before adding that Ukraine “will also coordinate with all NATO member states.”

Warmongers

Stateside, multiple members of Congress also called for sanctions, with some revealing a desire for military action. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) called on Trump “to respond with mandatory sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine and arm Ukraine with weapons capable of striking Russia.” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who once suggested that the U.S. military should admit illegal aliens, appeared to advocate U.S. military action. He said Tuesday on social media:

Repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones are fair warning that Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations. After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored.

And what’s a call for escalation without one of Congress’ most notorious warmongers? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) issued a message to Trump through his social media account. “We stand ready to pass legislation authorizing bone crushing new sanctions and tariffs that can be deployed at your discretion.”

Trump had already told reporters a couple of days earlier that he was ready to level more sanctions against Russia, a threat the Kremlin shrugged off. The next day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said sanctions “have proven absolutely useless in terms of putting pressure on Russia.” This appears to be true. Since 2022, multiple nations have collectively hit Russia with more than 20,000 sanctions.

The Incursion

Tusk said the first time Russia violated Polish airspace was around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the last around 6:30 a.m. “That gives you an idea of ​​the scale. It lasted all night,” he said, according to reports. Tusk blamed Russia of committing 19 violations. Speaking to the Polish parliament on Wednesday, he said that the possibility of a large conflict was “closer than at any time since World War II.”

European Union Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas said that this was “the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”

Tusk said the drones entered Poland from Belarus, the first time that’s happened. According to Russian media, Belarus had warned Poland that some drones may have lost their way:

The Belarusian military had previously reported giving Poland early warning that some drones used by Ukrainian and Russian forces for mutual attacks “lost their track as a result of the impact of the parties” electronic warfare assets.

The Russians said they were conducting military strikes in the Ivano-Frankovsk, Khmelnitsky, Zhitomir, Vinnitsia, and Lvov regions. The Lvov region borders Poland to the west. Western media reported the campaign included 415 drones, 42 cruise missiles, and one ballistic missile, part of an overnight attack on Ukraine.

Russia’s Response

Russian officials downplayed the event. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the EU and NATO leadership accuse Russia of provocation on a daily basis. Most often, without even trying to provide any arguments.” Russian media said that when senior diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Warsaw Andrey Ordash “was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, the Polish authorities did not provide any evidence that the downed [drones] belonged to Russia.” Regarding the incursion, Ordash said that Russia considers “the accusations groundless,” according to reports.

Poland shares not only a border with Russia, but a long, bloody history. It also boasts one of Europe’s most prepared militaries. The Poles allocate more of their GDP to defense than any European Union nation — nearly five percent. Since 2022, Poland has bought U.S.-made Abrams tanks, Korean howitzers, U.S.-made HIMAR rocket launchers, American Apache helicopters, Turkish drones, air-defense systems, and more. It has also fortified its border with Russia.

NATO’s Role

After the drone incursion, Poland activated Article 4 of the NATO treaty, a provision that prompts consultations within the alliance when a member state believes it has been threatened. It is not a request for military action. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, however, asked outright for NATO countries to shoot down drones and missiles flying into Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, although it wants to be. Its overture for NATO membership is one of the primary reasons the Russians have cited for their 2022 invasion.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday morning that “allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behavior.” He added that the incident “only reinforces the importance of NATO.”

Article 5 of the NATO treaty says that an attack on one alliance member is an attack on all. The country under attack has to request that the common defense clause be invoked, and the other 31 allies must unanimously agree to do so.

NATO’s most militarily robust member is the United States. If a NATO member is drawn into the war, the U.S. will be called upon to step up militarily. As of now, there are 10,000 U.S. troops in the Polish city of Poznan.

What Should America Do?

Michael Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Trump national security advisor, is warning American leadership to be “extremely steady” in this situation. He believes the EU is itching for escalation, saying Wednesday on social media:

The EU strongly desires a direct conflict with Russia and will pull every card, play any trick to find a way to drag NATO into a much more direct conflict. We must find a peaceful way out of this war. Europe’s globalist views are collapsing, they know it, they can see it in their own populations who grow more war weary and restless by the day. In fact, globalism is dying but it’s not dead yet. Steady everyone and pray our leaders do the right thing and make the right decisions.

Americans should call for an American exit from NATO. The globalists intend NATO to be the foundation of a world government military. That’s why they didn’t dismantle it after the fall of the Soviet Union, even though it was supposedly created to counter Soviet expansion. Globalists are on record admitting that the plan is to expand NATO across the globe.  

NATO is a United Nations alliance. It serves the UN vision, which is global government. It threatens American sovereignty and interests. In his farewell address, President George Washington said we should “steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” A few years later, in his first inaugural address, President Thomas Jefferson called for “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” A few years after that, future president John Quincy Adams said that America has no business going abroad of monsters to destroy.

U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced a bill to withdraw the United States from NATO. To learn more about the bill and how you can help get the U.S. out of NATO, check out this action page from The John Birch Society.