Poland invokes NATO Article 4 after Russia violates its airspace

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Wednesday before Parliament that his government will invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty to formalize urgent consultations with the other NATO allies after pointing to multiple violations of its airspace by Russian drones in the early hours of the morning.

This is a tool designed for times when the territorial integrity, political independence or security of a member state of the Transatlantic Alliance is threatened.

"The allied consultations to which I refer have now taken the form of a formal request to invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty," Tusk told Parliament.

Tusk confirmed at the meeting that during the early hours of the morning there were 19 violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones and claimed that three of the aircraft were shot down, the last of them at 6:45 a.m.

"Nineteen violations were identified," and "currently we have confirmed that three drones were shot down," the leader told Parliament, specifying that this is a first provisional balance of this raid, which lasted "all night long."

The Polish television Telewizja Republika has shown on a map of Poland the places where drones or remains of drones have fallen after being shot down by anti-aircraft defenses. So far no fatalities have been reported from the incidents.

Sweden, Norway and Latvia find the violation unacceptable

The governments of Sweden, Norway and Latvia found the Russian violation of Poland's airspace unacceptable and showed their support for Poland, stressing that the allies "must work together."

"The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine poses a threat to the security of all of Europe," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on X.

In the same vein, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that what happened is a "clear testimony" that Russian aggression in Ukraine affects them directly and appropriate measures must be taken. Norway, for its part, welcomed "the coordination between the Polish authorities and NATO."

Von der Leyen: "Reckless and unprecedented attack"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the Russian attack with at least eight kamikaze drones, which hit Polish territory early this morning, "reckless and unprecedented" and shared the "full solidarity" of the European Union with Poland.

"And our answer is clear as well, we have to bring Russia to the negotiating table, we have to pass more sanctions and we have to continue with the elimination of dependence on Russian fossil fuels," Von der Leyen stressed.