Yesterday at 20:05
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the intrusion of Russian drones into Polish airspace was a deliberate provocation by the Kremlin. He acknowledged that NATO’s air defense worked, but not as effectively as it should have to prevent the mass border violation, Politico reports.
According to Merz, the incident was another step in a series of Russian provocations that have been recorded for months in the Baltic region and on NATO’s eastern flank. He stressed that the drone attack is a serious threat to peace in Europe and confirms the deliberate nature of Moscow’s actions.
The chancellor supported Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s assessment of the deliberate nature of the intrusion and rejected the Kremlin’s claims of an “accident” or “coincidence.”
Merz paid particular attention to the state of the air defense system. According to him, this incident showed that NATO’s air defense in Europe requires significant improvement.
“First of all, I would like to note that European air defense, NATO air defense, worked, but of course not as well as it should have to prevent such a large number of drones from entering Polish airspace,” he said.
In his opinion, this is a serious signal for the allies, which should serve as a reason for deep discussion both within NATO and the European Union.
“We are and will remain determined to significantly strengthen the combat readiness and defense capability of NATO’s European part,” Merz added.
