Poland is the closest it has come to open conflict since World War II, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said today, after the NATO member downed Russian drones over its territory, Reuters reports.
He said Poland had asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which states that members of the Western military alliance will consult each other when, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any member is threatened.
Tusk told parliament that 19 incursions into Polish airspace were recorded overnight.
These incursions further increased tensions that were already simmering after earlier drone incursions, according to Reuters.
"I have no reason to claim that we are on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed and the situation is incomparably more dangerous than before. This situation brings us the closest we have come to open conflict since World War II," he said.
Tusk said that the shooting down of three drones had been confirmed, and a fourth was likely as well.
"The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation. Therefore, the allied consultations took the form of a formal request to activate Article 4 of the NATO treaty," Tusk said.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Galecka said Poland had found seven drones and the remains of one missile.
A drone or similar object hit a residential building in the town of Wiryki in eastern Poland, but no one was injured, the local mayor told state news broadcaster TVP Info.
Elsewhere in the eastern Lublin region, police said they found a damaged drone in the village of Czosnowka.
The district prosecutor's office in Zamość, also in the Lublin region, said it had been notified of the discovery of drone parts near a cemetery in the town of Česniki.
In the central Łódź region, a drone was found in a field near the village of Mniszków.
Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace earlier today during a widespread Russian attack on western Ukraine, in a move the NATO member called an "act of aggression," Reuters reported.
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Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) allows any member state to request consultations with other NATO Allies when it considers that its territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. This process takes place within the North Atlantic Council and, while it requires Allies to discuss the matter, does not oblige them to take joint action; however, decisions taken under Article 4 are usually unanimous and may lead to joint military, logistical or other action.
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