Poland ‘closer to conflict than at any time since WW2’ as UK forces are asked to bolster Nato air defences – live | Ukraine

UK defence secretary John Healey is now speaking after the E5 meeting of France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Poland in London, responding to the overnight Russian drone incursion in Polish air space.

He says:

“We face a new era of threat. War in Europe, rising Russian aggression, and last night, Putin hit a new level of hostility against Europe.

We saw across Nato’s eastern border a serious violation of Polish airspace, deep enough for Warsaw airport to be closed, and Nato jets shooting down Russian drones in what is the first defensive action of its kind since Putin launched his full scale attack on Ukraine.

And just at the same period as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine intensify, as prime minister Starmer said this morning, these moves, he said, only serve to remind us of President Putin’s blatant disregard for peace.

So together, we, the E5 totally condemn these attacks. Russian actions are reckless. They are dangerous. They are unprecedented.

We see what Putin is doing yet again. He is testing us yet again.”

He noted the Polish defence minister “rightly returned home” overnight to be in Warsaw to coordinate next steps, as he paid tribute “to the Polish and Nato personnel involved in such a rapid and effective defensive.”

Addressing the Polish people, he says “as your Nato ally, we will support you; our Polish friends, as your Nato ally, we will play our part to help secure the safety of your people.”

He says he has asked the UK armed forces “to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”

“Today, as a five nations, we say to President Putin: your aggression only serves to strengthen the unity between our Nato nations; your aggression only serves to strengthen our determination to stand with Ukraine,” he says.

Defence minister from Italy and junior ministers from Italy, France also offered their solidarity with Poland.

The US ambassador to Nato has responded to the overnight drone incursion into Poland, reiterating the US backing for Warsaw.

In a post on X, Matthew Whitaker said:

“We stand by our Nato Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of Nato territory.”

The Russian army on Wednesday said it did not target Polish sites in an overnight drone attack on Ukraine, after the Nato member said it had downed several Russian drones that breached its airspace, AFP reported.

“There were no intentions to engage any targets on the territory of Poland,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement in English, without confirming or denying that its drones had entered Polish airspace.

“We are ready to hold consultations on this subject with the Polish defence ministry,” it added.

Russian drones that violated Polish airspace were “clearly set on this course” and “did not have to fly this route to reach Ukraine”, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said, AFP reported.

“There is absolutely no reason to believe that this was a course correction error or anything of the sort,” Pistorius told the German parliament.

Separately, a German government spokesman said that the drone incursion in Poland is very serious and shows how much Russia is testing European resolve.

Mentioning the overnight drone incursion in the House of Commons, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said:

“Russia launched drones into Poland in an unprecedented attack.

I’ve been in touch with the Polish prime minister this morning to make clear our support for Poland.

We will stand firm in our support for Ukraine. With our partners and through our leadership of the coalition willing, we will continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin until there’s a just and lasting peace.”

Meanwhile over in Russia, the Kremlin on Wednesday declined to comment on the overnight developments, saying this was a matter for the country’s defence ministry.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is now offering his reaction to the overnight incident in Poland.

He says that “the full assessment is on-going,” but stresses that “whether it was intentionally or not, it is absolutely, reckless, it is absolutely dangerous.”

“To Putin, my message is clear: stop the war in Ukraine, stop escalating the war, which he is now basically mounting on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure, and stop violating allied airspace. Know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of Nato territory.”

He says the considers last night’s response “very successful.”

“We always have to make sure that we are one step ahead, but I think [that] last night showed that we are able to defend every inch of Nato territory, including, of course its airspace.”

And that ends his brief statement.