UN Security Council meeting on Poland drone incursion

The United Nations Security Council on Friday said it would hold an emergency meeting that afternoon to discuss the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace. Poland requested the meeting in a Wednesday letter to the council after about 20 Russian drones flew over its territory the previous night. The European Union, as well as representatives of Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, and several other countries in the region, planned to participate in the meeting, according to the council.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier suggestion that Russia’s drone incursion could have been accidental. He characterized the incident as an attack and said that it was no mistake. Poland shot down the drones with assistance from NATO fighter jets from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The incident marked the first time NATO officially fired shots since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. The UN Security Council was expected to discuss the incursion under an agenda item of threats to international peace and security, it said.

Has Russia sent drones into other NATO members’ airspace since the Russia-Ukraine war began? Croatia, Poland, Romania, and Moldova—a non-allied country—all have reported numerous airspace violations since 2022, according to the UN Security Council. However, those incidents didn’t typically involve as many drones as the most recent incursion.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s initial report on the drone incursion.