Germany's Merz: Russian drone incursion into Poland exposed NATO air defence vulnerability
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace was a deliberate provocation by the Kremlin. He has acknowledged that NATO's air defence responded, but not as effectively as it should have to prevent such an extensive border violation.
Source: Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation
Details: Merz believes the incident was the latest in a series of Russian provocations that have been recorded for months in the Baltic region and along NATO's eastern flank. He stressed that the drone attack was a serious threat to peace in Europe and confirmed the deliberate nature of Moscow's actions.
He supported Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's assessment of the incursion as intentional and dismissed Kremlin claims that it was an "accident" or "coincidence".
Merz placed particular emphasis on the state of the air defence system. He said that the incident had shown that NATO's air defence in Europe requires significant improvement.
"First of all, I would like to note that European air defence, NATO air defence, worked, but of course not as well as it should have in order to prevent such a large number of drones from entering Polish airspace early enough," he said.
In his view, this is a serious signal for the allies and should prompt an in-depth discussion both within NATO and the European Union.
"We are and will remain determined to significantly increase the defence readiness and defence capabilities of the European part of NATO," Merz added.
Background:
- German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, following the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, stated that he sees a constant threat from Russia and suggested that the drones may have deliberately entered Polish territory.
- Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that Russia had deliberately attacked a NATO country. He believes that the Kremlin’s denials were lies and typical Soviet practice.
- Sikorski believes that Poland may face a more serious violation of its airspace than the one that occurred on the night of 9-10 September.
- Tusk reported that the military had initially recorded 19 violations of the country's airspace. Media reports unofficially said that more than 20 drones were involved.
- Polish government spokesman Adam Szłapka stated that NATO had invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations.
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