Poland invokes Article 4 of NATO after shooting down Russian drones

Poland invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) after denouncing an ‘act of aggression’ by Russia early this morning following the dispatch of Russian drones that were shot down by Polish fighter jets in its airspace as part of a new Russian attack on Ukraine.

After detecting about a dozen Russian drones crossing from Ukraine and Belarus, Poland activated F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, which intercepted them with AIM-9X missiles.

Poland described this incursion as ‘an unprecedented violation’ of its airspace, which is part of NATO.

Following this incident, Poland invoked Article 4 of NATO, which states that member countries shall consult with each other when, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. This article allows member countries to request formal consultations with the Atlantic Alliance to analyse a threatening situation and agree on how to proceed, although it does not automatically imply a military response.

Article 4 differs from Article 5, which does contemplate the principle of collective defence and establishes that an armed attack against one member country is an attack against all, thus triggering an automatic military response.

‘Polish and allied forces have monitored dozens of objects by radar and, considering those that could pose a threat, the operational commander of the Polish Armed Forces has decided to neutralise them,’ according to an official statement from NATO itself.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, avoided confirming that the Russian attack was intentional, as indicated by the European Union (EU), although he did describe it as ‘reckless’ and stated that the Atlantic Alliance will defend ‘every inch’. He also indicated that more should be invested in defence and continued support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, which has now lasted almost three and a half years. 

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Kaja Kallas, did state that there are ‘indications suggesting’ that the Russian drone attack that hit Poland early this morning was ‘intentional’.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Polish Parliament that the Russian drone attack is the closest they have come to open conflict since World War II: ‘But we have no reason to believe that we are on the brink of war,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed that the downed drones belonged to Ukraine. Andrei Ordash, Russian chargé d'affaires, said that the downed drones belonged to Ukraine and not Russia, which could be an act of disinformation on Russia's part.

Therefore, the situation continues to escalate in terms of the war in Ukraine and the movements taking place in border territories that may affect other nations, such as Poland in this case. This scenario could lead to an escalation of the conflict on a more global level.