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Poland offers to shoot down Russian drones over Ukrainian territory as UK pledges Typhoon jets to Nato air defence mission
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A Nato-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine would be the best way to protect the alliance from incursions into its own member states’ airspace, Poland‘s foreign minister has said.
Radoslaw Sikorski was speaking after 19 Russian drones violated his country’s airspace last week and another Russian drone entered Romanian airspace over the weekend.
“Protection for our population – for example, from falling debris – would naturally be greater if we could combat drones and other flying objects beyond our national territory,” foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
Poland would be able to shoot down Russian drones over Ukrainian territory, he said, calling it an “advantageous” move.
His remarks came after the UK announced British fighter jets will join Nato air defence missions over Poland amid the threat from Russian drones.
The RAF Typhoons are expected to start flying the missions in the coming days, the government announced.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Russia’s reckless behaviour is a direct threat to European security and a violation of international law.”
The intrusion of a significant number of Russian drones over Poland last week was already focusing minds in Nato, not least on the thorny question of where it draws its “red lines”, when another such incursion took place at the weekend.
Last Wednesday, 19 Russian drones were found to have crossed over into Polish airspace, some having travelled hundreds of miles inland, before a handful were shot down by local and Nato aircraft. It marked an unsettling escalation of tensions between Russia and Europe, and prompted Poland’s prime minister to declare military conflict on the continent “closer than at any time since the Second World War”.
Mark Almond reports:
The first images of the site of a Russian strike have been released by the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration on Tuesday (16 September).
Russia’s embassy in London has confirmed its ambassador Andrei Kelin has received a “formal protest” by the UK government following its drone incursions into Nato airspace.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) summoned the Russian ambassador following what it called a “significant and unprecedented violation of Nato airspace”.
“The British side was reminded that there had been no plans to target any facilities on Polish territory during the recent air strikes against the installations of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex,” the embassy wrote in a statement on Telegram.
“We reiterate that Russia has no interest in heightening tensions with Poland or Nato.”
Ukraine’s military has reported an attack on Russia’s Saratov oil refinery on Tuesday (16 September).
The news was confirmed in a statement by the General Staff on Telegram, who said there were explosions and fire in the area of the facility. The full extent of the reported damage is still being assessed.
The refinery produces more than 20 types of petroleum products, with a processing volument amounting to more than 4.8 million tons in 2023, according to the Ukrainian National News (UNN).
The military had previously reported a hit on the facility in August earlier this year.
The Ukrainian president has called for “investment and “determination” from the country’s partners after “provocations” by Russia.
Zelensky referred to the use of more than 3,500 drones, 2,500 aerial bombs and 190 missiles in attacks against Ukraine this month.
He referenced Russian violations of Polish and Belarusian airspace.
“This is precisely the kind of aerial terror against which Ukraine is calling for joint defence – so that no one has to scramble combat aircraft in haste and feel Russia’s pressure on their borders,” he said.
“Now is the time to implement the joint protection of our European skies with a multi-layered air defence system.
“All the technologies for this are already in place.”What is needed are investments and determination – strong actions and decisions from all our partners.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has confirmed that two Belarusian citizens have been arrested after drones were caught flying over government buildings in Warsaw.
The drones were operating in areas including near the Belweder palace, one of the official presidential residences.
“The police are investigating the circumstances behind the incident,” he wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
It follows Russia organising drills with Belarus and sending drones into Poland and Romania, prompting concern from experts.
Volodymyr Zelensky has shared his hopes for US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, saying he hopes it will result in a “clear position” on Ukraine.
“I very much hope he (Starmer) will be able to have a very specific discussion on the security guarantees of the US for Ukraine,” he told Sky News.
“Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want to… have a document that is supported by the US and all European partners. This is very important.
“To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump.”
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine so far this month alone.
“There have also been provocations against our partners,” he said on X.
“This is precisely the kind of aerial terror against which Ukraine is calling for joint defence – so that no one has to scramble combat aircraft in haste and feel Russia’s pressure on their borders,” the Ukrainian president said.
His remarks come just hours after Russia struck civilian areas in Zaporizhzhia, killing one and injuring at least 13 people.
“In Zaporizhzhia, first responders have completed extinguishing fires after the city was shelled by Russian rocket artillery. They struck deliberately to terrorise our people – 13 were wounded, including two children. Many residential buildings were damaged,” he said.
Poland has called for a Nato-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine, stating it would be the best way to protect the alliance from incursions into its own member states’ airspace.
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s remarks come after 19 Russian drones violated his country’s airspace last week and another Russian drone entered Romanian airspace over the weekend.
“Protection for our population – for example, from falling debris – would naturally be greater if we could combat drones and other flying objects beyond our national territory,” Sikorski said.
“We as Nato and the EU could be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone; it can only be made with its allies,” he told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Poland would be able to shoot down Russian drones over Ukrainian territory, he said, calling it an “advantageous” move.
“If Ukraine were to ask us to shoot them down over its territory, that would be advantageous for us. If you ask me personally, we should consider it,” Sikorski said.
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