WASHINGTON DC – US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that the Russian drones that violated Polish airspace earlier this week could have done so unintentionally, a comment that has been sharply rebuked by Poland and its European allies as a dangerous misreading of the situation.

“It could have been a mistake,” Trump told reporters, adding that he was “not happy about anything to do with the whole situation, but hopefully that’s going to come to an end.”

The remarks stand in stark contrast to the strong condemnation from European leaders, who have labeled the incident a “deliberate provocation” and a “new, serious escalation” of the conflict.

Several Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Wednesday during an attack on Ukraine, prompting NATO jets to scramble and shoot down the unmanned aircraft. Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, directly challenged the US President’s assessment, stating in a social media post, “No, that wasn’t a mistake.”

Polish and other European officials have emphasized the long duration and deep penetration of the incursion, which saw drones fly as far as 300 miles into Polish territory.

In a show of solidarity, multiple European nations, including the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, have decided to summon Russian ambassadors to their foreign ministries.

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The latest remarks from the US president came as Moscow escalates its war by sending drones towards Poland – a matter that Trump ruled as a “mistake,” to the displeasure of Warsaw.

Meanwhile, France is taking a more direct military step to support its ally. French President Emmanuel Macron announced on social media that he has decided to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to “help protect Polish airspace and of NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies.”

Experts see a test of NATO’s resolve and a “fatal weakness”

Retired US Army Colonel Richard Williams, a veteran of NATO leadership, told Kyiv Post that the drone strike was “deliberate” and a test of the alliance’s political will.

“It’s one thing to have the capacity to retaliate – it’s another to have the political will to do so!” Williams said.

He warned that NATO’s “fatal potential weakness” is that it’s “as weak as it weakest link and especially as undetermined as its most capable lead nation,” alluding to the US and President Trump’s “unwillingness to strike Russia” or “risk war with Moscow.”

Yuriy Boyechko, the CEO of the US-based humanitarian organization Hope for Ukraine, offered a scathing critique of Trump’s approach to the conflict.

He told Kyiv Post that Russian President Vladimir Putin “sees that the king has no clothes” and “continues to cross red line after red line.”

Boyechko contrasted the current administration’s actions with those of the previous one. He argued that former President Joe Biden “supplied weapons to Ukraine, imposed sanctions on Russia, isolated Putin on the world stage, and unified Western allies.” In his view, “These decisive actions... restrained Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.”

In contrast, Boyechko said, Trump has “rolled back support,” “minimized weapons supplies to Ukraine,” and “protected Putin from new sanctions,” all of which have made the US and NATO “appear weak.”

“Putin is now emboldened—flying deadly drones into Poland with impunity, knowing there will be no consequences,” Boyechko said.

He concluded that “if Putin faces no consequences for deliberately flying multiple drones into a NATO member state, then it’s safe to say that NATO is effectively dead as a security alliance. And that, unfortunately, would be yet another “success” of Trump’s presidency.”