Kateryna Chernoval23:27, 10.09.25

Previously, when drones or their debris were found on the territory of Poland, Latvia, or Romania, the Alliance did not respond with military means, the agency notes.

On the night of September 10, Russian drones flew into Polish airspace , where they were intercepted by NATO aircraft. The incident was the most serious consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine for the Alliance, writes Reuters .

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that “the air defense system was activated and successfully protected NATO territory as intended.” At the same time, the head of the Alliance’s military committee, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said that NATO’s “rapid response” to the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones was “decisive.” 

But analysts believe that this incident has called into question NATO’s readiness to counter such threats. 

“This is a very good example of the fact that we need to be not only vigilant, but also more decisive in our actions,” said Peter Bátor, former Slovak ambassador to NATO.

The authors note that the reason for the Russian attack on Poland remains unclear. However, Bator noted that the Alliance reacted to the threat of Russian drones, rather than preventing it, as it should have. He questioned whether it would be acceptable if foreign troops, rather than drones, had entered the territory of a NATO country:

“There is not much difference between drones and troops.”

In his opinion, NATO should agree with Ukraine on the right to destroy Russian drones that pose a threat to Alliance members directly on Ukrainian territory – before they penetrate NATO’s own airspace. But the bloc operates on the basis of consensus, and there are currently no signs that all allies will support such a step, the agency writes. It is noted that some NATO members are “extremely wary of the possibility of being drawn directly into war.”

Previously, when drones or their debris were found on the territory of Poland, Latvia, or Romania, the Alliance did not respond with military means. 

In addition, the drone incident in Poland has raised questions about whether NATO has the right and cost-effective military structure to deal with the relatively modern threat of unmanned aerial vehicles, the report says. The Polish armed forces have said that a significant part of the drones are Gerber-type drones, which are very cheap, as noted by researcher Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Notably, NATO responded to the attack with expensive weapons, such as F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, Mi-24, Mi-17 and Black Hawk helicopters, and Patriot air defense systems. Forces from Poland, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany participated in the operation.

“Western air defense systems were not designed with the expectation that inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles would be used on such a large scale. Shooting them down with manned aircraft such as fighter jets and helicopters is possible, as has been demonstrated, but it requires a high pace of operations if the threat is persistent,” explained Hintz.Read also:

In turn, Phillips P. O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, noted that the drone attack on Poland was “a trifle compared to what Ukraine experiences every night.” According to him, the drones “should have been recognized as a possible threat much earlier and prepared for defense in time”:

“This should have been child’s play for NATO. God help them if they face 600 drones and missiles in one night.”

(C)UNIAN 2025