The expert was reacting to the fact that around 19 Russian drones penetrated Polish airspace on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. This was also confirmed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Former Minister Wlachovský: I congratulate the Poles for shooting down Russian drones, we must be prepared for provocations

"A large number of drones from Russia violated Polish airspace. Our air defenses were activated, which successfully ensured the defense of NATO territory, as it is designed to do. In addition to Poland, several allies were involved. Polish F-16 fighters, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS aircraft, NATO multi-role tankers and German Patriots intervened," Rutte said in a statement.

Who believes in coincidences?

Russian drones have penetrated as far as the Masovian Voivodeship, which includes the capital. Warsaw has already asked NATO to activate Article 4 of the alliance treaty. This states that allies will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any NATO country is threatened.

PS: If the drones were sent over Poland intentionally, this is a clear act of aggression

"We are the closest we have come to an armed conflict since World War II, but we are not in a state of war," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed."The decision to activate Article 4 was preceded by my consultations with the President. It is our joint recommendation. Article 4 is only an introduction to deeper cooperation to strengthen the security of our skies and our border, which is a NATO border. And words are by no means enough," the TASR agency quoted Tusk as saying.

"Poland has not experienced anything like this since the end of the Cold War in 1989, but the allies have been with us from the very first moment. Of course, if you want, you can believe in coincidences. But if there was no intention, would it have such a scale? One of the drones ended up in the middle of Poland. In recent months, weeks and days, we have seen more frequent incidents at the borders of airspace and we are watching how the Russians are bombing Ukraine more and more intensively," Swierczynski recalled.

This wasn't here before - Poland shoots down Russian drones

The Russian embassy in Poland initially"explained" the incident in its own way. The drones allegedly arrived from Ukraine, as the chargé d'affaires in Warsaw, Andrey Ordaš, told the RIA Novosti agency. The diplomat was summoned by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Ministry of Defense then stated that the unmanned aircraft, which allegedly have a range of 700 kilometers, allegedly did not intend to hit targets on Polish territory and that Moscow was willing to talk to Warsaw about it.

"We are still assessing the overall situation. But of course, whether it was intentional or not, it was absolutely reckless. It is clearly dangerous. But as I said, the full assessment is still ongoing. And to the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, my message is clear: stop the war in Ukraine. Let him stop the escalating war that he is now essentially waging against innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure. Let him stop violating the airspace of allies. And let him know that we are ready, that we are vigilant and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory," Rutte sent a message to Moscow.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a parliamentary debate that the Russian drones that violated Polish airspace were clearly directed on this course and did not have to fly this route to reach Ukraine."We have absolutely no reason to believe that it was a flight error or anything like that," Pistorius was quoted as saying by AFP.

Warning for Slovakia

"This is an unprecedented violation of the airspace not only of Poland, but also of the EU and NATO. First of all, I congratulate the Poles for managing to shoot down the drones, because it is extremely important to show that we are ready for such a provocation. It is essential that we send a very clear signal to Russia that it should not tamper with the airspace of the North Atlantic Alliance in this way," former Slovak Foreign Minister and GLOBSEC analyst Miroslav Wlachovský told Pravda.

Polish authorities have so far found parts of at least seven drones and one missile of unclear origin. Slovak government officials have taken a relatively cautious stance on the incident."I express my solidarity with Poland and offer cooperation in finding all necessary answers," Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a written statement, avoiding mentioning Russia.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Juraj Blanár reacted similarly."The Slovak Republic perceives the violation of the territory of our alliance partner as a serious escalation and deterioration of the situation. This is unacceptable for us. We express absolute solidarity with Poland and at the same time support the consultations requested by the Polish side under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty," informed Blanár, who is talking about the conflict in Ukraine, not the Russian war against Ukraine.

"What happened is a very big warning for Slovakia, as well as for other countries on the eastern wing of the alliance. The question is to what extent we are prepared for a similar potential attack and whether we have at least as many resources as Poland. It is right to immediately support Warsaw and show solidarity, but also practical assistance if we can provide it. Let's do this precisely so that we too can expect something like this from our partners in the future. We must very clearly condemn such attacks in EU and NATO airspace," explained Wlachovský.

"We should be careful not to succumb to war rhetoric too much. Let's try not to escalate the situation. But NATO countries have also joined the defense of Poland, which is a clear signal to Russia that it cannot operate with impunity in Polish airspace," Scott Lucas, an international relations expert from the University of Birmingham, told Pravda.

According to the expert, the whole incident is connected to the Russian war against Ukraine."We are currently in the middle of discussions about security guarantees for Kiev. These should apply after the Russian invasion is stopped, but what if Moscow does not agree to this? How much military equipment will we deliver to Ukraine? This situation presents an opportunity for Poland and NATO to delineate the boundaries of what Russia can do. And they are suggesting that they could intensify Ukraine's defense against Russian attacks," Lucas thinks.