John Healey said he has asked UK Armed Forces ‘to look at options to bolster Nato‘s air defence over Poland‘ after Russian drones were shot down over the eastern European country.
The Defence Secretary said the incursion, which saw the unmanned attack craft shot down by Nato jets, took Russia’s aggression to ‘a new level of hostility’.
Polish airspace was violated by multiple Russian drones and those that posed a direct threat were shot down, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media.
It came three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began, an assault that hit a key government building in Kyiv for the first time.
Until July, RAF Typhoons were operating from Poland as part of Nato’s air policing mission – a task shared between the members of the alliance.
Following talks with with defence officials from Poland, Italy, France and Germany, the Defence Secretary told a press conference: ‘I have asked the UK armed forces to look at options about how we can bolster that Nato air defence over Poland.
‘We… are part of a regular air policing mission. Up until six weeks ago, we had six Typhoon jets – part of the British component to that Nato air policing mission – over Poland, an extra 200 personnel.
‘We have 300 UK personnel in Poland at the moment, reinforcing Nato’s deterrence as well as the Polish deterrence and defence as well.
‘We will do what we can as part of Nato, as part of a collective response that Poland has asked for from us, its Nato allies.’
The Defence Secretary said the incursion, which saw the unmanned attack craft shot down by Nato jets, took Russia’s aggression to ‘a new level of hostility’
Polish airspace was violated by multiple Russian drones and those that posed a direct threat were shot down, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media
Following talks with with defence officials from Poland, Italy, France and Germany, the Defence Secretary told a press conference: ‘We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm’
He added: ‘Together, we E5 totally condemn these attacks.
‘Russia‘s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented.
‘We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.’
RAF jets were not involved in shooting down Russian drones in Poland’s airspace during overnight attacks on Ukraine.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has said the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany played a role in the response to the drone incursion.
The former Dutch PM said that Nato is ‘vigilant’ and will defend ‘every inch’ of its territory, in a message to Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his support for Poland.
Speaking at PMQs he said: ‘I’ve been in touch with the Polish prime minister this morning to make clear our support for Poland, and will stand firm in our support for Ukraine with our partners, and through our leadership of the coalition of the willing, we will continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin until there’s a just and lasting peace.’
Russian drones and missiles have entered Nato airspace several times during Russia’s war in Ukraine, but a Nato country has never tried to shoot them down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on social media that the airspace violation was a ‘dangerous precedent’ for Europe, saying it was ‘no accident’.
He brandished the incursion, which damaged a house and a car, an attempt to ‘humiliate’ Poland, and called for a strong response from Nato.
Multiple Russian drones moving from Ukraine airspace into Poland’s
An area was cordoned off as investigators inspected parts of a discovered drone in Mnishkov
‘Russia must feel that the response to this escalatory step, and even more so to an attempt to humiliate one of Europe’s key countries, will be clear and strong from all partners,’ Zelensky said.
Mr Tusk said he had invoked Nato’s Article 4 under which any member can call urgent talks when it feels its ‘territorial integrity, political independence or security’ are at risk – only the eighth time the measure has ever been used.
More than eight million Poles were ordered to hide in their homes as the drones flew overhead, with debris from one shot-down device crashing into a house.
The operational command of Poland’s military said the airspace violations were ‘unprecedented’ and called it ‘an act of aggression’.
Russia’s top diplomat in Poland, Andrei Ordash, this morning told RIA Novosti, meanwhile, that he had been summoned to the foreign ministry for a meeting at noon (10am GMT).
He said Warsaw was yet to show evidence that the drones shot down overnight had come from Russia.
