© EPA / SERGEY DOLZHENKO The president said that, according to him, this situation will be the most terrible.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that the Russians could have launched drones over Poland to prevent Ukraine from receiving additional air defense systems before winter. He made this statement during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“In my opinion, they could also do this so that partners do not transfer air defense systems to Ukraine before winter. Demonstrating that you also need it, because we can attack you. It looks like Putin, very much. I am not sure that this is so, I am just sharing [their thoughts],” Zelensky said.
At the same time, the president noted that the method that Ukraine proposed two years ago – shooting down drones over Ukrainian territory with planes – will no longer work. He said that it is needed as an element, but one of the system.
“This is needed as an element. It will strengthen the shield over the western part of Ukraine and over Poland. But it is an element. This is not enough. Today, we need air defense systems to be located in the western part of our state, Polish aviation can be used on the territory of Poland, but general coordination is needed and it is desirable that Ukraine coordinates. Because there are 5-7 elements of multi-defense,” the president noted.
He added that the drone attack on Poland is psychologically similar to how the Russians seized Crimea in 2014. Only today, instead of “little green men”, they used drones, because now there is a technological war going on.
“Therefore, I think the scariest thing is when someone, for example the USA, as we had with Crimea, or some other partners, send signals that the main thing is not to bring it to war. And the internal situation in the country is such that the main thing is for everything to go very calmly. Therefore, for me, this is very similar to Crimea. Therefore, I share what I think. Because there are messages from Putin in the media and they have always been open, about some parts of Poland that the Soviet Union gave it at one time. That is, the rhetoric is the same,” Zelenskyy concluded.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a total of about 19 drones had been detected, and for the first time some of them had flown from Belarus. At least one residential building was damaged in the attack . After the incident, the Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires for Russia, Andrzej Ordas .
An accelerated call-up of territorial defense reservists was also announced in the provinces of Poland . After Poland submitted an official request, NATO activated Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations of allies in the event of a threat to the security of any member state. At the same time, as Reuters writes, NATO does not consider the incursion of Russian drones into Poland as an attack.
According to media reports, in the Masovian Voivodeship, a Russian drone fell on the territory of a military unit of the Territorial Defense Forces several dozen kilometers from Warsaw.
Meanwhile, former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis warned that the Russian drone attack on Poland could become an argument for individual states to limit aid to Ukraine .
