Poland rejects Trump's Russia drone claim
Polish officials have rejected Donald Trump’s claim that Russian drones may have entered Polish airspace by mistake.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that "we also wish the drone attack on Poland were a mistake. But it's not. And we know that."
We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) September 12, 2025
The German news agency dpa reported that at least one of the drones was heading for a military aid distribution centre for Ukraine at the airport in the Polish city of Rzeszów. For this reason, military officials, citing NATO sources, consider it unlikely that the drone incursion was accidental.
The day before, Donald Trump had condemned the Russian drones' entry into Poland's airspace but suggested it could have been an unintentional act, according to DW.
"It could have been a mistake, but either way, I'm not happy about any of this," he said at the White House, expressing his hope that "this will end." The US president added that he condemns Russia "even for just getting close to that line." "I don't like it. I'm unhappy about it," Mr. Trump said.
On the night of 10 September, at least 19 Russian drones crossed the Polish border, with many of them coming from Belarus. To intercept them, fighter jets from other NATO states were also mobilised alongside Polish aircraft. The wreckage of some drones damaged a house in the village of Wyrzyki, near the border with Belarus and Ukraine, but no casualties were reported.
Warsaw stated that Russia had deliberately attacked Poland and called for consultations with allies under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
In Germany, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in the Bundestag (parliament) that the Russian drones had been deliberately launched at Polish territory and there was no evidence of a trajectory error.
In response, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that it "had not planned" to hit targets in Poland. General Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, confirmed that the army had received a warning from Belarus about the approaching drones. "The Belarusians warned us that the drones were heading toward our territory through their airspace," he said.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
