 "Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stands in front of Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jets as he holds a press conference regarding the threat posed by Russian drones in Polish airspace at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, about 30 km south-west of Lodz, Poland, Thursday. Reuters")
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday firmly rejected suggestions from US President Donald Trump that this week’s drone incursions into Polish airspace could have been unintentional, saying there is no doubt the attack was deliberate.
“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” Tusk said in a post on X on Friday.
His remarks come after Poland shot down drones that violated its airspace early Wednesday, an operation carried out with the support of Nato military aircraft. The incident marks the first known instance of a Nato member engaging militarily in direct response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump downplayed the drone incident, saying it “could have been a mistake”, but added, “I’m not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation. But hopefully it’s going to come to an end.”
Meanwhile, his administration has eased some sanctions on Belarus, a close Russian ally that Polish officials claim was used as a launch site for many of the drones that entered Polish airspace.
Adding to the tensions, Belarus on Friday began a large-scale military exercise with Russian forces, set to take place near Barysaw, about 75 kilometers east of Minsk.
However, military analysts warn the drills could extend closer to the Suwalki Gap — a strategically sensitive corridor on the Poland-Lithuania border that links Belarus with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, reported Financial Times.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier on Friday, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk echoed Prime Minister Tusk’s remarks, reinforcing the Polish government’s position that the drone incursion was deliberate, not accidental.
The incident has further escalated regional tensions and intensified scrutiny of Nato’s posture and response to ongoing Russian aggression along the alliance’s eastern flank.
“I think this is a message that should reach President Trump today: there’s no question of a mistake - this was a deliberate Russian attack,” Reuters quoted Tomczyk as saying to local TV broadcaster Polsat News.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who is scheduled to visit Kyiv on Friday, also responded to Trump’s words.
“On the night that 19 Russian drones crossed into Poland, 400 (drones) plus 40 missiles crossed into Ukraine. These were not mistakes,” he said in a video posted on X.
With inputs from agencies