DONALD Trump has broken his silence after Russia’s “deliberate” drone incursion brought Europe to the brink of war.
In an ominous post on Truth Social, the US president said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones. Here we go!”
It comes as the government said more Brit troops could be deployed to Poland to bolster Nato’s eastern flank against Russia’s rising threat.
Nato has vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land after Kremlin drones invaded Polish airspace overnight – forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.
Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK today vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s “test”.
Defence Secretary John Healey condemned Russia’s “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented” escalation after meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy – with Poland’s defence minister diverted by the crisis.
He said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”
The UK already has around 300 troops in Poland as part of a “regular air policing mission” – and Healey vowed to “do what we can” to make that more robust.
That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.
Healey added: “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.”
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace and slammed it as proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.
He said he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk to show Britain’s support, adding: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”
No10 also confirmed the RAF played no part in the Nato emergency response to the Russian drones, after our six Typhoons were rotated out of Poland in July.
Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.
He said four were shot down by Nato fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherland the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.
This is the first time since the outbreak of war that Nato has directly clashed with Russia, though jets have been scrambled many times without engaging.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said the Security Council met this morning to discuss Poland’s request for Article 4.
He said: “Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory.”
Rutte wouldn’t confirm whether Vlad’s drones were being treated as deliberate – but branded the night’s events “absolutely reckless” either way.
And the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the incursion looked “deliberate”.
Article 4, a clause in Nato’s founding treaty, brings all of the allies together when the security or territory of one is threatened.
But it stops short of Article 5’s key promise that an attack on one is an attack on all that demands a military response.
The only previous “hot” exchange between Putin’s Russia and a Nato member came in 2015 when a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft which violated its airspace.
The incident came during the Syrian civil war where Russia was backing the former Assad regime against rebels.
Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Poland drone strikes were proof of a “deliberate policy shift by Putin”.
He welcomed Poland’s decision to trigger Nato’s Article 4 – and urged allies to stand up “to bullying behaviour”.
He told The Sun: “Over the last month we have seen bomb damage to British Council and the EU headquarters in Kyiv, we have seen the first strikes on Ukrainian government buildings in Kyiv, and now these strikes on Poland.
“Putin is trying to make us back off. He is trying to send a warning to the US and Nato that he is no longer going to turn a blind eye to our support for Ukraine.”
Wallace vowed: “We always had a reaction to that kind of bullying behaviour – no one will tell us who we can and can’t help.”
NATO warplanes roared into action when the fleet of hostile drones breaches Polish airspace.
Air defences blasted several out of the sky – damaging a house in the eastern village of Wyryki.
Wreckage was also found in Czosnowka as terrified residents were ordered to stay indoors across three regions.
Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS planes and NATO refuelling aircraft all took part in the overnight operation, while Patriot systems tracked the swarm on radar.
Nato sources stressed the drone incursion is not being treated as a Russian “attack”, but confirmed it was the first time alliance aircraft had directly engaged threats in allied airspace.
Explaining its reaction, Poland’s Defence Ministry said: “Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by drones, which posed a direct threat.”
It said that in order to ensure security, the commander of the Polish army “activated all necessary procedures” and the drones were shot down “pre-emptively”.
A senior Nato source told The Sun: “We should ramp up support to Ukraine big time.”
They warned Putin was “flexing his muscles” and the tyrant has “a skip in his step” after his back-to-back red carpet meeting with President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
The source claimed Moscow was deliberately probing Nato’s eastern flank and gambling on Trump’s reluctance to support Europe.
Only days earlier, Trump welcomed Poland’s new president Karol Nawrocki to the White House with a military flyover.
Don pledged to keep – and even increase – US troops in Poland and strongly guaranteeing the country’s security on NATO’s frontline.
Now, the pressure is on for him to keep that promise after Putin’s drone swarm tore into Polish skies overnight.
Republican representative Joe Wilson, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russia was “attacking NATO ally Poland” with drones.
He called it an “act of war” and urged Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine”.
Wilson added: “Putin is no longer content just losing in Ukraine while bombing mothers and babies, he is now directly testing our resolve in NATO territory.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki called the strikes an “unprecedented moment in NATO’s and Poland’s history”.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen branded Russia’s actions a “reckless and unprecedented violation” of Polish airspace and demanded tougher measures.
She told MEPs: “Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland. The message is clear, and our response must be equally clear.
“We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. We need more sanctions.”
Von der Leyen said the bloc is working on a 19th sanctions package – with options including a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels and action against the Kremlin’s shadow fleet, while urging more support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Britain’s ambassador to Poland said she was “deeply concerned” by the drone incursion, praising Warsaw’s “speedy response” and insisting: “The UK stands with Poland.”
Millions of citizens in Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lublin were ordered to stay indoors as chaos unfolded overnight.
They were also sent chilling SMS alerts warning: “Attention! Due to the operation to neutralise objects which have violated the border of the Polish Republic, inform services about drones and locations where they fall. Do not approach them.”
Videos captured the roar of military aircraft soaring above Lublin in eastern Poland.
And missile tracking maps showed several Shahed style attachments drones entered Ukrainian air space.
Some appeared to have turned round to strike Ukraine from the west.
It came ahead of major Zapad 2025 war games between Russia and authoritarian ally Belarus, which borders NATO states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
The military exercises – which will include rehearsing for nuclear strikes on the West – are scheduled to kick off on September 12.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15153936/nato-ukraine-warning-russian-drones/