UN Security Council to meet over Russian drone incursions on Poland

The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Friday over Russian drone incursions in Poland.

Poland's military late Tuesday night announced that it struck down Russian drones that allegedly violated its airspace during a military operation in Ukraine.

Poland banned drone flights along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine until Dec. 9, and limited small air traffic there, Reuters reported.

NATO backed Poland in shooting down the drones, which is the first time a member state is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia said it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland, and said it would offer no further comment. A senior NATO commander said it was not yet known whether the Russian drone incursions were intentional.

"This Russian provocation, as the generals and our soldiers are well aware, was nothing more than an attempt to test our capabilities, our ability to respond," Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Thursday.

UN Security Council members Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and the United Kingdom asked the 15-member body for a meeting over the incident.

Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO midair refueling aircraft scrambled in the operation to shoot down drones in Polish airspace overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, according to officials.

Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told parliament on Thursday that the debris of 16 drones had been recovered so far.

Kosiniak-Kamysz also said Poland's logistical support for Ukraine may have been a motivation for the incursions, as most aid for Ukraine transits through Poland.

"This is an attempt to weaken NATO's and Poland's willingness to support Ukraine," he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he had activated Article 4 of NATO's treaty, under which members can demand consultations with allies.

President Trump spoke to Nawrocki on Wednesday, with the two leaders expressing unity. However, they reportedly had or continue to disagree on whether the incursion was intentional.