Polish air defence systems were placed on the highest alert “amid the threat of Russian drones” over Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a separate post, adding that the action was “preventive”.
Residents of six Polish districts near the Ukrainian border received emergency SMS alerts warning of a threat from the air. Ukrainian air defence said earlier on Sunday AEST that two Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been flying in the west of the country.
At the weekend, Zelensky posted on X saying he didn’t think the drone flights were accidental, and renewed his call for the country’s allies to impose additional sanctions on Russia.
Poland has become highly attuned to its air security after an unprecedented incursion of about 20 Russian drones last week. Polish and allied forces shot down at least three UAVs for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Polish firefighters inspect a house that was damaged by numerous Russian drone strikes in Wyryki.Credit: AP
The country is set to receive additional air defence support from its NATO allies as a result of the events.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that it will take a few days to determine whether the drones were intentionally sent into Poland.
“The question is whether the drones were targeted to go into Poland specifically,” he told reporters as he departed for a trip to Israel. “If that’s the case, that the evidence leads us there, then obviously that’ll be a highly escalatory move.”
Bloomberg
