"We think the preponderance of evidence suggests that it was deliberate, Sikorski said. They were launched from a single location, and they were all unarmed. If this was an accidental offshoot of that night's attack on Ukraine, you would expect the mix of drones to be the same, some armed, some unarmed. All the ones that crossed into Poland were unarmed, he said."
"The drones, understood to be Russian-made Gerbera decoys, were launched from Russia, in an incursion that was seemingly coordinated with Belarus, he said. It was, he added, partly a test of Poland and Nato's air defences, forcing Poland and Nato allies to respond by scrambling fighter jets and other air defences. Sikorski was speaking before a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, at which the defence of Europe's eastern flank and supply of drones to Ukraine will be discussed."
"Radosaw Sikorski, on a visit to London, said all Vladimir Putin had achieved with the incursion was a consolidation of western opinion against him. He also dismissed Russian concerns that supplying US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would be unnecessarily provocative. The move by Russia had involved 21 drones in a seven-hour incursion in early September, forcing the closure of airports in the east and centre of the country."
Poland accused Russia of a tactically stupid and counterproductive escalation after a drone incursion into Polish airspace. Twenty-one drones conducted a seven-hour incursion in early September, forcing closure of airports in the east and centre. The drones were unarmed and are understood to be Russian-made Gerbera decoys launched from Russia, apparently coordinated with Belarus. The incursion appears to have tested Poland and NATO air defences, prompting scrambling of fighter jets and additional NATO air policing under Operation Eastern Sentry. NATO defence ministers will discuss eastern flank defence and drone supplies, while the European Commission aims for functional continental drone defences by end-2027.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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