Poland warns Russia planning drone or rocket strikes on NATO territory, says attacks will be called ‘accidental’
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
Weather News September 17, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
Weather News September 17, 2026 e-Paper
Published – September 18, 2026 05:06 am IST – Warsaw (Poland)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. File
| Photo Credit: Kay Nietfeld
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday (September 17, 2026) that Russia is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, among them Poland.
Russia will pretend the attacks are “accidental” in order to “paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries" to rush to the defence of the member state coming under attack, Mr. Tusk said in a speech to the Polish Parliament.
“There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction," PM Tusk warned.
“The official narration will be that it's an accident and there is no reason for NATO to think about a response,” he added.
He said Russia was more dangerous because it was increasingly using jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster and thus are more difficult to detect by air defense before reaching their targets.
Mr. Tusk has been for months warning that Russia might be preparing a more serious hybrid attack against a NATO country. His warnings have gotten increasingly specific as he received intelligence from NATO, Ukrainian and U.S. secret services, including the CIA, he said.
In recent days, Mr. Tusk has said Russia was now focusing on attacking border crossings between Ukraine and its European neighbors in order to disrupt delivery lines to Ukraine.
Four such incidents happened on Poland's border with Ukraine in the past week and several others took place in the last weeks on Ukraine's border with Moldova.
Mr. Tusk said at the moment Russia was not ready for any peace talks “without the total capitulation of Ukraine.” “They are convinced the winter will be tragically critical for Ukraine.”
He said last winter Poland stepped in with deliveries when Ukraine's energy infrastructure came under attack, but if border crossings are destroyed, it will be much harder for Warsaw to offer such help this upcoming winter. “Russia's goal is to destroy as much as possible the economy and logistics of Ukraine,” Mr. Tusk said, adding that intelligence indicates continuous attacks of “very high frequency and intensity” on six main Ukrainian cities should be expected in the near future.
Mr. Tusk announced he would travel to Ukraine overnight to Friday (September 18, 2026), in what can be seen as an act of defiance against Russia after European leaders narrowly escaped a drone strike on a train near the Polish-Ukrainian border on Sunday (September 13, 2026). Officials usually keep their travel plans to Ukraine secret for security reasons.
In Kyiv, he said he would discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy how to defend against the new types of drones as well as discuss with partners including Slovakia about further sanctions against Russia.
On Thursday (September 17, 2026), U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “major progress is being made toward establishing a US Army base in Poland” after a US delegation was in Poland last week to visit several possible locations.
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” Mr. Trump wrote. “This will be a historic step for our Great US/Polish Alliance.” Poland has for years sought to host a permanent US base as a strong guarantee of its security in the face of the rising Russian threat.
Poland's high defence spending and major U.S. arms purchases have persuaded the Trump administration to consider putting a permanent base in Poland even as it reorganises and reduces its overall military presence in Europe.
In May, the U.S. unexpectedly withdrew troops from the total of around 10,000 stationed in Poland, causing confusion among European allies and nervousness in Warsaw. But officials in both Poland and the U.S. soon said the withdrawal was temporary and Poland was not expected to suffer from the U.S. troop reorganisation.
Published – September 18, 2026 05:06 am IST
Poland
/
NATO
/
Russia
/
USA
/
Donald Trump
/
Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
