On the night of Tuesday into Wednesday, drones from the east appeared over Polish skies. The first was identified at 11:30 PM, and the last at 6:30 AM. The entire operation lasted seven hours, and, as Polish leaders unanimously emphasized, it was unprecedented in its scale.

Nineteen drones entered Polish airspace. As reported by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, three or four of them were shot down by Polish and allied pilots. NATO forces participated in the operation. As a result of these events, NATO Article 4 was activated at Poland's request.

Reports of this incident are still coming in from around the world. This is a significant event, as it marks the first time that unmanned aircraft have so openly appeared on the territory of a NATO member state. It's also the first time the alliance's response has been so decisive – some of the targets were simply eliminated, and such moves indicate that the situation could escalate.

More than a day after these events, Interia reached out to three experts with varying experience. We asked them to assess the incident and draw three key conclusions. We reached out to General Stanisław Koziej, former head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), as well as former Minister of National Defense Jan Parys and security expert Prof. Daniel Boćkowski. Their observations are not identical, although each statement points to a single conclusion: Poland must urgently strengthen its anti-drone defenses, because the nighttime attack demonstrated that we are still helpless in this area.

Drone Attack: Four Conclusions from General Stanisław Koziej

Gen. Stanisław Koziej draws four conclusions and applies them to various players on the international stage. His first observation concerns Russia.

"The main goal of this drone offensive was to provide additional practical information about the Polish and NATO defense system for the upcoming ZAPAD-25 exercise. It may also be a desire to practice some maneuver planned for the period following a potential victory over Ukraine. The strategic goal is the direction of NATO. Such an offensive would only be possible in a scenario following a victory over Ukraine. For Putin, it was a risky move, as he likely estimated that NATO would not react so decisively," General Koziej told Interia.

His second conclusion concerns NATO itself. - The Alliance proved its worth in this case and crossed the Rubicon of ambiguity. Until now, it was somewhat unclear how to respond to Putin's escalatory doctrine, as he operated quite freely on the escalation ladder. By deciding to shoot down these drones, NATO crossed the Rubicon. From this point on, it will begin to more decisively and practically hinder Putin's freedom to wage a second Cold War, believes General Koziej.

General Koziej's third conclusion focuses on Poland."We don't have anti-drone defense, although that's not a major revelation. This all-night operation of drones raiding our airspace shows that we don't have such a defense. Our air system is an element that requires priority efforts. This incident poses two challenges for Polish foreign policy. The first is NATO's efforts to immediately plug the gap in our anti-drone defense by bringing in forces from other NATO countries to this direction. The second is convincing NATO allies to establish a forward air defense zone along the NATO border with the Ukrainian theater of war . Missiles and drones that enter our airspace fly there, so we have the right to defend ourselves against these threats and to advance this frontier to begin combating missiles and drones flying towards us on Ukrainian territory," General Koziej emphasizes.

The fourth, perhaps least obvious, conclusion concerns Ukraine."The Russian drone operation also has to do with Europe's consolidation around supporting Ukraine, and in particular, building security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia, with this move, wanted to discourage potential coalition members from engaging in aid for Ukraine," the Interia source said.

Nighttime Drone Attack: Three Conclusions from Jan Parys

We also asked Jan Parys, former Minister of National Defense, for his observations on this unprecedented event. The former politician draws one optimistic conclusion, as well as two that are certainly puzzling.

"NATO's procedures for supporting Poland are working. Immediately, without waiting for political decisions. The Alliance is active, efficient, and effective," says Jan Parys.

His second conclusion is not so positive."Poland does not have its own effective system for detecting and destroying drones. This is an unpleasant, negative conclusion," Parys emphasizes.

Jan Parys's third conclusion focuses on practical issues."More than a day has passed since this event, and we still haven't heard from government representatives who is to blame for the fact that no one in Poland is drawing conclusions from the fact that Ukraine has been attacked by drones and missiles every day for a year, even though these drones and missiles could also threaten Poland. Moreover, I haven't yet heard what the government's decisions are regarding further purchases. We rely on allies, yet we ourselves are demonstrating our own helplessness when it comes to fighting drones. Fighter jets are expensive equipment and not designed for this purpose," emphasizes the Interia source.

Drones over Poland: Three Conclusions from Professor Daniel Boćkowski

Security expert Prof. Daniel Boćkowski from the University of Białystok also has some interesting conclusions. His first observation is extremely brief. - The Russians have stopped pretending. End of story - Prof. Boćkowski tells us.

What is the second conclusion? -  We don't yet have sufficient systems for analyzing, tracking, and monitoring drone activity. We owe our actions to good Ukrainian and Belarusian reconnaissance. Thanks to this information, we knew the drones' flight path. The reconnaissance is still lacking, argues Professor Boćkowski.

Interestingly, the scientist from Białystok is the only one of our interviewees who points to the government's information policy. He recalls that during the drone attack, the RCB (Central Security Council) issued alerts, but they were somewhat late and covered too large an area. He believes sirens should also have been activated, and this is precisely the conclusion he draws from his statement.

"There should be greater awareness of alerting the public. It's not that we don't want to upset anyone because drones have flown in. Drones are flying towards Poland, entering our airspace, targeting very specific locations, and we're launching an operation to intercept them, so we should seriously consider activating alarm systems. They could simply warn the public," says Professor Boćkowski.

Łukasz Szpyrka