Poland's Tusk rubbishes Trump's claim that Russian drone raid could have been a 'mistake'

POLISH PRIME MINISTER Donald Tusk has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the Russian drone raid into Polish airspace could have been a mistake.

Poland branded the incident, which prompted Polish and NATO forces to shoot down several drones on Tuesday to Wednesday, a deliberate “unprecedented” attack on the country, NATO and the European Union.

Moscow denied targeting the country and said there was no evidence the drones were Russian. The drones intruded as Russia unleashed a barrage of strikes across Ukraine as part of an ongoing offensive there following its 2022 invasion.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” Tusk said on X.

Polish authorities said they had recovered parts of 17 Russian-made drones, which fell without causing any injuries or major damage in the the east of the country on Wednesday.

While the EU labelled the raid a test of the resolve of the NATO alliance in the face of Russia’s continued war in Ukraine, Trump suggested otherwise.

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A cornerstone of NATO is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed an attack on all.

“It could have been a mistake,” he told journalists late Thursday when asked about the incident.

Germany said it would “extend and expand” its participation in NATO’s Air Policing programme, to provide more cover to Polish airspace.

Its defence ministry said it would double the number of Eurofighter jets deployed to four and extend their mission by three months to the end of the year.

And French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a post on X that France would “deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and of NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies.”

Poland has closed air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of three kilometres until December.

The UN Security Council’s South Korean presidency announced yesterday it would hold an emergency meeting to discuss Warsaw’s claim of a “violation of Polish airspace by Russia”.

It will take place this evening at 8pm Irish time.

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