Poland said Russia committed a major violation of its airspace. Follow Newsweek for live coverage.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has invoked NATO’s Article 4 after he said a «huge number» of Russian drones violated his country’s airspace during Moscow’s overnight attack on western Ukraine.
Tusk said 19 drones had entered Polish airspace and those posing a threat were shot down by Polish and NATO air defenses.
Under Article 4, NATO allies are called into consultation when a member state believes its «territorial integrity, political independence or security» is threatened.
Ukraine and its European allies have called the incident a significant escalation of Russia’s war.
Ukraine believes more drones violated Polish airspace
Russia is silent so far after its attack on western Ukraine
Trump, U.S. reaction still to come
Kyiv’s allies seek tough response to Russia
Belarus blames «electronic warfare» for wayward drones
Follow Newsweek for live updates.Russia-Ukraine war map shows control of territory
Newsweek’s John Feng put together this map showing the current control of territory in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.Belarus blames «electronic warfare» for drones going astray
Belarus, one of Russia’s closest allies, which borders Ukraine and Poland, said drones fired by both sides in the conflict had been impacted by «electronic warfare» that caused them to go astray from their intended paths.
It also said Belarus had destroyed wayward drones over its territory.
Major General Pavel Muraveiko, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in Belarus, shared a statement on Telegram.
«During the night-time exchange of strikes by UAVs between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the Air Defence Forces and assets of the Republic of Belarus on duty continuously tracked UAVs that had lost their track as a result of the impact of the parties’ electronic warfare assets», Muraveiko said.
«Some of the lost drones were destroyed by our country’s Air Defence Forces over the territory of the republic.»
Muraveiko said Belarus had exchanged information with Poland and Lithuania overnight as it detected the «approach of unknown aircraft to their countries’ territory.»
«This allowed the Polish side to respond promptly to the actions of the drones by scrambling their forces on duty», Muraveiko said.
«In fairness, it should be noted that the Polish side also informed the Belarusian forces on duty about the approach of unidentified aircraft from the territory of Ukraine to the border of the Republic of Belarus.
