Poland is looking to pass a law that will allow its military to down Russian drones over Ukraine without needing approval from NATO or the European Union.
The current government is planning to scrap the restrictive measure under a new ‘shoot first, ask later’ policy, which is intended to give the military more flexibility when it comes to responding to threats.
The proposed new legislation was submitted by the country’s defence ministry in June, but the application has been reportedly fast-tracked after multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland earlier this month.
European officials called the move from Vladimir Putin a deliberate provocation and NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets to shoot them down.
The incursion and NATO’s response raised concerns that war could spill over – a fear that has been growing in Europe as Russia steps up its attacks and peace efforts go nowhere.
Under Polish law, the country’s president was originally allowed to authorise deployments, but in 2022 – one day before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – the policy was amended so that Polish forces could only operate under EU and NATO approval.
Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.
Poland said some of the drones earlier this month came from Belarus.
Poland is looking to pass a law that will allow its military to down Russian drones over Ukraine without needing approval from NATO or the European Union. FILE PHOTO: Russian Tu-22M3 strategic nuclear bomber
It comes after Russian drones invaded Polish airspace earlier this month
Poland’s Prime Ministrer Donald Tusk said this week that his nation will not hesitate to shoot down objects that violate its airspace
It was not immediately clear how many drones were involved, but Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament 19 violations were recorded over seven hours, but he said information was still being gathered.
Polish authorities said nine crash sites were found, with some of them hundreds of kilometers from the border.
‘There are definitely no grounds to suspect that this was a course correction mistake or the like,’ German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament. ‘These drones were very clearly put on this course deliberately.’
Dutch fighter jets came to Poland’s aid and intercepted some drones.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski later thanked the Dutch government ‘for the magnificent performance of Dutch pilots in neutralizing’ the drones.
It also comes after Estonia’s airspace was violated by three Russian fighter jets on Friday.
Tusk also said earlier this week that his nation will not hesitate to shoot down objects that violate its airspace, adding to a sense among NATO leaders that Moscow is testing the alliance’s readiness and resolve, with some urging a firm response.
We will take the decision to shoot down flying objects when they violate our territory and fly over Poland – there is absolutely no discussion about that,’ Tusk told a news conference, adding that Poland will take a more cautious approach to situations that are less clear-cut.
Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland
A severely damaged house in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building
‘When we’re dealing with situations that aren’t entirely clear, such as the recent flight of Russian fighter jets over the Petrobaltic platform – but without any violation, because these aren’t our territorial waters – you really need to think twice before deciding on actions that could trigger a very acute phase of conflict,’ he added.
Tusk said that he would also need to be certain that Poland would not be alone if a conflict started to escalate.
‘I also need to be absolutely certain… that all allies will treat this in exactly the same way as we do,’ he said.
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