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WARSAW, Sept 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Poland said Thursday it had called an 
emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss violations of its 
airspace, a day after it accused Russia of carrying out a drone raid on its 
territory.

Poland said the incident was not accidental and branded it an "unprecedented" 
attack on Poland, NATO and the European Union, but Moscow denied targeting 
the country and said there was no evidence the drones were Russian.

Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members 
including Poland several times since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine 
in 2022, but no NATO country has ever attempted to shoot them down.

The incident was "an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and 
our readiness to respond", Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Thursday 
during a visit to an airbase in western Poland.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss "the 
violation of Polish airspace by Russia", the Polish foreign ministry said 
without specifying a date.

Poland's National Security Council will also meet later on Thursday and the 
defence minister is set to brief parliament on the latest findings.

Officials said drones violated Polish airspace 19 times, but there were no 
casualties and the damage was limited -- a house and a car were destroyed.

- 'Reckless' -

Poland boosted security on Thursday, closing air traffic along its eastern 
borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of 
three kilometres (1.9 miles) until December 9.

The PAZP air traffic control agency said in a statement drones would also be 
banned.

The country had already announced ramped-up measures on the Belarus border to 
cope with military drills the country is carrying out with its ally Russia 
between September 12 and 16.

The few open border crossings with Belarus would be closed starting on Friday 
over the Zapad ("West") drills.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday that the drone raid 
marked an unprecedented escalation of tension with Russia.

"This situation... brings us closer than ever to open conflict since World 
War II," he said as he briefed the lawmakers.

Tusk called a NATO meeting on Wednesday, invoking Article 4 under which a 
member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, 
political independence or security" are at risk -- only the eighth time the 
measure has been used.

A cornerstone of NATO is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed 
an attack on all.

NATO chief Mark Rutte denounced Moscow's "reckless behaviour" and hailed his 
organisation's "very successful reaction", telling journalists the alliance's 
air defences had done their job.

- Unity 'reaffirmed' -

The raid was condemned by Poland's allies around the world, with the European 
Union and Ukraine calling it a test of the alliance's resolve.

Nawrocki said late on Wednesday he had spoken by phone to US counterpart 
Donald Trump as "part of a series of consultations" with allies.

"Today's talks reaffirmed our unity," he said.

China, which has never denounced Russia's war in Ukraine, said on Thursday it 
hoped Russia and Poland would solve the dispute through "dialogue".

"The Chinese side hopes that all parties concerned will properly resolve 
their disputes through dialogue and consultation," foreign ministry spokesman 
Lin Jian told a regular news briefing.

Poland is a major supporter of Ukraine and hosts more than one million 
Ukrainian refugees. It is also a key transit point for Western humanitarian 
and military aid to the country.