What happened
Poland said early Wednesday that its military had shot down Russian drones that flew into its territory, prompting the closure or suspension of flights at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport and three smaller airports. Polish airspace was “violated by a huge number of Russian drones,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media. “Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down” by Polish and NATO fighter jets. Poland’s military command called the incursion “an act of aggression.”
Who said what
Poland’s downing of Russian drones, during Moscow’s latest massive overnight aerial assault on neighboring Ukraine, was the first time a NATO member “has fired shots in the war,” Reuters said. It “feels like an escalation by Moscow — testing the West’s response,” BBC Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford said. Lone Russian drones had crossed into NATO airspace previously, but this bunch “didn’t just stray into Poland. They went deep enough for even Warsaw airport to be closed.”
The incursion “occurred at a time of heightened tension,” as Russia and Belarus prepare for joint military exercises across the Polish border, The Wall Street Journal said. It also “comes at an especially sensitive time diplomatically,” Politico said, as President Donald Trump weighs “whether there is any genuine prospect of a peace deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Russia’s “repeated violations of NATO airspace” offered “fair warning” that Putin “is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations,” and it “cannot be ignored.” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) said Russia “attacking NATO ally Poland” was an “act of war” that Trump should respond to with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine.”
-
October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
Remaking the military: Pete Hegseth’s war on diversity and ‘fat generals’Talking Point The US Secretary of War addressed military members on ‘warrior ethos’
-
Prime minister shocks France with resignationSpeed Read French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu submitted his government’s resignation after less than a month in office
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU partySpeed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Denmark’s record-setting arms purchase raises eyebrows and anxietyIN THE SPOTLIGHT By eschewing American-made munitions for their European counterparts, the Danish government is bracing for Russian antagonism and sending a message to the West
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
