Star Metro - Allies bolster Poland air defence after drone raid blamed on Russia

Poland branded the incident, which prompted Polish and NATO forces to shoot down several drones overnight 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.

But Polish President Karol Nawrocki warned Thursday during a visit to an airbase in western Poland that the incident was "an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and our readiness to respond".

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."

The Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Sweden each summoned their Russian ambassadors to protest the drone incident.

The UN Security Council's South Korean presidency announced Thursday it would hold an emergency meeting to discuss Warsaw's claim of a "violation of Polish airspace by Russia".

It will take place on Friday at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT).

- 'Reckless': NATO -

Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members including Poland several times since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Polish officials said on this occasion drones had violated its airspace 19 times. There were no casualties and the damage was limited -- a house and a car were destroyed.

Poland's National Security Council met Thursday and the defence minister was expected to brief parliament on the latest findings.

Poland boosted its security Thursday, closing air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of three kilometres (1.9 miles) until December 9.

The PAZP air traffic control agency announced that drones would also be banned.

The country had already announced ramped-up measures on the Belarus border to cope with military drills the country is carrying out with its ally Russia between September 12 and 16.

The few open border crossings with Belarus were to be closed from Friday due to the Zapad ("West") drills.

Reacting to the closure, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement urged Poland "to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible".

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday that the drone raid marked an unprecedented escalation of tension with Russia.

Tusk called a NATO meeting on Wednesday, invoking Article 4 under which a member can convene urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk -- only the eighth time the measure has been used.

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

NATO chief Mark Rutte denounced Moscow's "reckless behaviour" while hailing his organisation's response. The alliance's air defences had done their job, he told journalists.

- Unity 'reaffirmed' -

Both the European Union and Ukraine condemned the incident on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said on X: "Russia's reckless violation of Polish airspace threatens our European security."

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky denounced the incident as "a pure provocation by the Kremlin".

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement: "The Russian violations are unacceptable and constitute a threat to Europe's security."

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing China "hopes that all parties concerned will properly resolve their disputes through dialogue and consultation".

China has never denounced Russia's war in Ukraine.

Poland is a major supporter of Ukraine and hosts more than one million Ukrainian refugees. It is also a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the country.

A.Rogen--SMC