"Many of the 19 drones that crossed into Polish territory early Wednesday were shot down but the incursion was enough to prompt Warsaw to invoke NATO's Article 4 - in a rare direct military engagement between NATO and Russia - the first since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was an accident, and that the drones were never intended to enter Poland."
""It is absolutely reckless," Rutte said, in a message intended for Russian President Vladimir Putin, "Stop violating allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory." The possibility that NATO's support for Ukraine could lead to military conflict with Russia has been a concern since the early days of the 2022 invasion. When a single stray missile landed on Polish soil in November 2022, killing two farmers, Ukraine blamed Russia."
Nearly two dozen drones crossed into Polish territory, with many shot down, prompting Poland to invoke NATO's Article 4 and triggering a rare allied security alert since 2022. The Russian Defense Ministry called the incursion accidental and said the drones were never intended to enter Poland, but Polish, Ukrainian and Western officials rejected that explanation. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said intent is irrelevant and demanded Russia be held accountable, warning that NATO will defend every inch of allied territory. The scale and depth of the incursion, with drones traveling up to about 100 miles into Poland, raises concerns about inadvertent escalation into direct conflict.
Read at The Cipher Brief
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