Poland says Russia’s drone incursion ‘wasn’t a mistake’ after Trump’s speculation – Europe live

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

German air policing over Poland already operational, spokesperson says

Expanded German air policing over Poland in response to the incursion of Russian drones is already in effect, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

“Aviation already established operational readiness yesterday evening,” the spokesperson said at a regular government news conference, as reported by Reuters.

“This means that we now have two alarm rotas in the area which fulfil the mission 24/7. Both alarm rotas are qualified for the mission,” he said.

Nato calls press conference with secretary general Rutte, top commander Grynkewich

Nato has called a press conference with secretary general Mark Rutte and Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich this afternoon.

It will take place 4pm BST, 5pm CEST, and we will bring you all the details here.

Given Tusk’s comments earlier (11:32), we can expect this to be related to the Russian drone incursion incident earlier this week – particularly coming just hours before a UN security council meeting on this topic at 8pm BST, 9pm CEST.

Poland's Tusk hints at more UK involvement in Poland, offers no details

Tusk also says the announcement with BAE Systems is “only a part of our cooperation with the UK.”

He says he “received another message from prime minister Starmer about greater UK involvement in military assistance, here in Poland, on an urgent basis,” without offering further details.

Let’s see what that means. We’re looking into this.

Poland's Tusk talks about plans for ramping up domestic ammunition production

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk is speaking now at an ammunition factory in Poland.

He says he has been in touch with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, and expects to hear more about the alliance’s “action” on the eastern flank in response to the Russian drone incursion later today.

He also talks about a new investment by British company BAE Systems that will help Poland produce caliber 155mm ammunition.

EU could phase out Russian oil, gas faster to help end Ukraine war, US energy secretary Wright says

The European Union could phase out Russian oil and gas faster and it would be helpful in ending the war in Ukraine, US energy secretary Chris Wright said.

Speaking at an event in Brussels organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies thinktank, Wright also said if the EU did not fix its methane laws, it would prevent LNG imports from the United States, Reuters reported.

His comments come a day after fourteen green groups have written to Ursula von der Leyen this morning to defend the EU’s methane rules against US lobbying (Europe Live, Thursday).

Poland's Sikorski meets with UK's Cooper in Kyiv for talks on Ukraine, Nato's eastern flank

Poland’s Sikorski has met with UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper in Kyiv earlier this morning, the Polish ministry of foreign affairs confirmed.

The pair talks about the situation in Ukraine and the eastern flank of Nato following the Russian drone incursion into Poland, the ministry said.

UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell also joined the meeting, it added.

21 reported drone incursions into Poland, president's senior aide says

Meanwhile, Marcin Przydacz, the most senior foreign policy aide to Poland’s president Karol Nawrocki, said in an interview with Radio Zet this morning that the number of reported Russian drones that crossed into Poland’s territory went up to 21.

Not all of them have been found yet, he said. As of last night, Poland’s interior ministry confirmed retrieving 17 drones.

Przydacz also cautioned against what he said was a campaign of Russian disinformation, which sought to make people believe that the drones were Ukrainian, stressing that Polish authorities were “clear” they were Russian and launched from the Russian territory.

Despite the strong reaction from Poland, it is worth noting that Trump’s comments appear to be broadly in line with those by US air force general and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Alexus Gregory Grynkewich.

Appearing alongside the Lithuanian defence minister, Grynkewich told a press conference in Vilnius on Thursday that “we do not yet know if this was an intentional act or an unintentional act” from Russia (Europe Live, Thursday).

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine pledging support for thousands injured in war

Prince Harry has also made a surprise visit to Kyiv after an invitation from the Ukrainian government, saying he wanted to do “everything possible” to help the recovery of the thousands of military personnel who have been seriously injured in the three-year war against Russia.

During the trip to the Ukrainian capital, he and a team from his Invictus Games Foundation are set to detail new initiatives to support the rehabilitation of the wounded, with the eventual aim of providing help to all areas of the country.

Earlier this year it was estimated that the Ukraine war had already left 130,000 people with permanent disabilities – and the government has now put rehabilitation through sport at the heart of its policy for helping veterans.

Speaking to the Guardian on an overnight train to the capital, the Duke of Sussex said: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.”

He added: “We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”

'We were supposed to have sanctions; instead, we got Alaska,' Poland's foreign minister on Trump's decisions on Russia

Overnight, Sikorski also appeared on Fox News, saying “it’s hard to believe” that the incursions could have been a mistake.

He also said:

“We need to change Vladimir Putin’s calculations. We need to convince him that he cannot conquer Ukraine at an acceptable cost. And to do that, we need to impose tougher sanctions on Russia.

We need to starve Russia of the resources to continue prosecuting this criminal war.”

In a bruising comment on Trump’s recent decisions on Russia, he added:

We were supposed to have sanctions, and instead, we got Alaska. And since then, as you say, attacks have intensified.

Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski is in Kyiv today on a previously unannounced visit.

In a short video clip in front of the Polish embassy in Kyiv, seemingly intended to respond to Trump’s comments overnight, he appeared with Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Kyiv, Piotr Łukasiewicz.

“Minister, I report that after the recent drone and missile attack on Kyiv, the damage to our embassy and consulates has been repaired, and we are operating normally under these conditions,” Łukasiewicz said.

Sikorski replied:

“On the night when 19 Russian drones flew over Poland, over 400 drones and 40 missiles flew over Ukraine. These were not mistakes.”

Morning opening: We wish it it was, but it wasn't a mistake

Poland’s political leadership appears increasingly concerned by the muted US response to Thursday’s Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.

As more and more European partners condemn the incident and declare their support for Poland with concrete offers of help, the US president, Donald Trump, appeared to be more dismissive last night as he said it “could have been an mistake”.

“Regardless, I’m not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation,” Trump told reporters, before adding in general terms: “But hopefully it’s going to come to an end.”

Overnight, Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said simply: “No, it wasn’t a mistake.”

This was further followed by the country’s prime minister, Donald Tusk.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” Tusk said in a pointed social media rebuttal in English this morning.

The diplomatic offensive comes hours before the UN security council gathers in New York to discuss the incident on Poland’s request and we will no doubt hear more from Poland and its European allies in the build up to the meeting.

It’s Friday, 12 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.