Donald Trump has vowed to defend Poland if it came up against Russia after its drone incursion sparked the biggest escalation since World War II.
The US President made the commitment when speaking to journalists gathered outside the White House today as he left to attend the memorial for assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
He was asked: ‘Will you help defend Poland and the Baltic States from Russia if Russia keeps escalating?’
The American premier responded: ‘Yeah, I would, I will.’
It comes after suicide drones sent by Russian president Vladimir Putin ‘repeatedly violated’ Polish airspace earlier this month during a Kremlin attack on Ukraine.
The Nato country was forced to scramble its air defenses to take out the craft in the early hours of September 10 – in its first engagement since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.
Some 19 Shahed-2 drones entered Polish airspace with at least three shot down – and just days later, another was neutralised over Poland’s presidential palace.
It saw Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warn ‘we are closer to war than any time since World War II’ as he denounced the ‘large-scale provocation’, which tests ‘Nato’s response threshold’.
Donald Trump (pictured today) has vowed to defend Poland if it came up against Russia after its drone incursion sparked the biggest escalation since World War II
It comes after suicide drones (pictured) sent by Russian president Vladimir Putin ‘repeatedly violated’ Polish airspace earlier this month during a Kremlin attack on Ukraine
Nato was pressed to deploy a force of multinational fighter jets and employed Italian surveillance aircraft after patriot defence systems detected drones on their radars.
Previously, Mr Trump wrote, ‘Here we go!’, in a foreboding message as he reacted to Nato members shooting down the Russian drones – the incursion of which he expressed scepticism over.
He also phoned Polish president Karol Nawrocki over the incursion, who said on X at the time: ‘Just a moment ago, I spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump regarding the repeated violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, which occurred last night.
‘The conversation is part of a series of consultations I am conducting with our allies. Today’s talks confirmed allied unity.’
Some 8.6million Poles were ordered not to leave their homes due to the unprecedented operation by the Polish Air Force to repel the ‘drone invasion’.
Russian drones and missiles had entered Nato airspace several times before during Russia’s war in Ukraine but a Nato country had not previously tried to shoot them down before this.
The military clash between Poland and Russia was the first of its kind since the war began, with the move seen as an escalation by Putin.
Previously, Mr Trump (pictured, speaking to the media before departing for Charlie Kirk’s memorial) wrote, ‘Here we go!’, in a foreboding message as he reacted to Nato members shooting down the Russian drones
Nato was pressed to deploy a force of multinational fighter jets and employed Italian surveillance aircraft after patriot defence systems detected drones on their radars. Pictured: Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house in Poland after the drone incursion
It was the first time a Nato member was known to have fired shots during the war.
Die Welt, a German newspaper, reported five of the drones were on a direct flight path to a Nato base used to deliver supplies to Ukraine.
A high-ranking Nato officer told the paper: ‘Based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered Nato airspace’.
Poland’s deputy prime minister has since called for Nato to build an ‘anti-drone wall’ on its border with Russia.
Radosław Sikorski, the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told Radio 4 on September 11 his nation needs an ‘anti-drone wall’ to protect itself against Russia.
He said: ‘We have equipment to deal with jets, with fighters, but what we need now is an anti-drone wall on our border.
‘We’ve lived next to Russia for 500 years. When they threaten us, we take it seriously. We know that Russian imperialism in inherently aggressive.
‘It’s aggressive against our neighbour Ukraine, but they’ve made threats against us as well.’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned on social media the airspace violation was a ‘dangerous precedent’ for Europe, saying it was ‘no accident’.
He denounced the incursion, falling debris from which damaged several homes, a car and a military base for Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces, as an attempt to ‘humiliate’ Poland, and called for a strong response from Nato.
‘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,’ Mr Zelenskyy said.
Polish PM 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.
The incident pushed tensions with an increasingly emboldened Putin into uncharted territory, with Nato chief Mark Rutte vowing ‘we will defend every inch of Nato territory’.
Mr Tusk met with top officials after the stand-off and said the drones were shot down in a joint effort with Nato allies. He added Poland was in communication with allies.
The North Atlantic Council, Nato’s decision-making body, also changed the format of its weekly meeting on Wednesday, holding it under Article 4 of the alliance treaty.
A cornerstone of the Western military alliance is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed an attack on all.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the incursion, falling debris from which damaged several homes (pictured), a car and a military base for Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces
Mr Tusk said: ‘This is the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a Nato country.
‘All our allies are taking the situation very seriously. We have not recorded any casualties.’
The operational command of Poland’s military said the airspace violations were ‘unprecedented’ and called it ‘an act of aggression’.
Russia’s defence ministry said it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland, in a daily update on strikes against Ukraine at the time.
It said that amid a strike on military-industrial targets in western Ukraine, including attack drones: ‘No objects on Polish territory were planned to be targeted.
‘The maximum range of UAVs used in the strike [on Ukraine] does not exceed 700 km [435 miles].
‘Nonetheless, we are ready to hold consultations with the Polish defence ministry on the subject.’
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the ‘egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones’.
He said: ‘This morning’s barbaric attack on Ukraine and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones is deeply concerning.
‘This was an extremely reckless move by Russia and only serves to remind us of President Putin’s blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment innocent Ukrainians face every day.’
Polish PM 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. Pictured: A Polish home damaged after the drone incursion
He also said he had been in contact with the Polish leader to offer support.
It was followed just days later by a drone which flew over Poland’s presidential palace in Warsaw, on September 15, in what the country said appeared to be another Russian provocation.
The object was ‘neutralised’ by Poland’s State Protection Service (SOP), Mr Tusk said.
He wrote in a post on X: ‘Just now, the State Protection Service neutralized a drone operating over government buildings (Parkowa Street) and the Belweder Palace.’
Meanwhile, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, warned Polish media following the incident: ‘I suspect that such provocations will be repeated.’
A source from the Polish intelligence service, SOP, told the Polish Press Agency no shots were fired during the operation and the drone was returned to two Belarusians who launched it in emergency mode.
They were later detained in connection to the drone and police have now launched an investigation.
An SOP spokesman said: ‘SOP officers on duty at Belweder Palace spotted the drone and notified their superiors.
Tensions in the wider Baltic region have since escalated further with more incursions into Estonia, Romania and again into Poland. Pictured: A Russian MIG-31 fighter is seen flying above the Baltic Sea after violating Estonian airspace on September 19
‘A patrol was then dispatched to neutralise, or detain, the drone operators. The officers apprehended two individuals and handed them over to the police.’
Colonel Napiórkowski emphasised the SOP is monitoring government buildings. ‘We are constantly vigilant here, we are prepared for such situations, and we will always respond,’ he said.
Tensions in the wider Baltic region have since escalated further with more incursions into Estonia, Romania and again into Poland.
Tallinn has demanded urgent talks with Nato allies after three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace in a ‘reckless’ and ‘brazen’ attempt to intimidate the country.
Mr Trump warned of ‘big trouble’ after the powerful MiG-31 warplanes spent 12 minutes violating Estonian airspace on Friday as they conducted combat operations to test the country’s defences.
And elsewhere in today’s press huddle, the president was asked if he had been briefed on the situation in Estonia, to which he responded: ‘Yeah, we don’t like it.’
The move into Estonia sparked an emergency response from Nato, which sent in F-35 fighters to intercept the Russian aggression.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted on social media that the UK ‘stands with our Estonian allies’.
Despite Trump’s condemnation of the move, Vladimir Putin launched a devastating overnight strike on Ukraine, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more.
Russia deny violating Estonian airspace, but tensions have continued to heighten, as in further provocation by Putin, two Russian jets also made a show of force over a Polish oil platform in the Baltic Sea, breaching its safety zone.
Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal said his country had decided to ask Nato to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty, like Poland did after the incursion into its airspace.
‘Such a violation is completely unacceptable. Nato’s response to any provocation must be united and strong,’ Michal said.
‘We consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps’.
It comes after Romania reported a drone incursion into its airspace on September 13 during a Russian attack on infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine.
The country scrambled two F-16 fighter jets late on Saturday to monitor the situation following the strikes, said a defence ministry statement.
The jets ‘detected a drone in national airspace’ and tracked it until ‘it disappeared from the radar’ near the Romanian village of Chilia Veche, it added.
