Germany and France summon Russian envoys after NATO airspace breach

Germany and France on Friday summoned Russian ambassadors following the incursion of 19 Russian drones into Polish airspace, an act Berlin and Paris are treating as a deliberate provocation of NATO allies.

The drones entered Poland late Tuesday and early Wednesday during attacks on neighbouring Ukraine, prompting a scramble by the Polish Air Force and NATO forces to shoot down the unmanned aircraft.

It was the first time Russian drones had been intercepted over the defence alliance’s territory.

The German Foreign Office called the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin “dangerous” and “unacceptable,” emphasizing that “NATO stands united to defend our alliance territory and our security.”

In response, Germany has reinforced the Bundeswehr’s role in protecting NATO’s eastern flank, making available four Eurofighter jets to monitor Polish airspace through the end of the year, up from two.

In Paris, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France would tell the Russian envoy that it would not be intimidated and that Russia must stop testing NATO’s resolve.

He described the incursion as “a deliberate strategy by Russia to intimidate us, to test us.” As part of its response, France will send three Rafale fighter jets, along with personnel and ammunition, to protect Polish airspace and NATO’s eastern border.

The Netherlands summoned the Russian envoy on Thursday, signalling broad European concern over the latest escalation in Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that the drone flights were no accident.

Speaking on Wednesday, Merz said he shares Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s assessment that “the Russian government’s claim that this was a coincidence or an oversight, so to speak, is not credible.”

He warned of “a very serious threat to peace throughout Europe,” describing a “new quality of attacks that we are seeing from Russia.”

A European Commission spokeswoman said on Friday: “We have also summoned both the Russian and the Belarusian envoys yesterday in separate meetings in relation to this to this violation.”

“We have conveyed our strong condemnation (of) this violation. We have also recalled the fact that Russia continues waging war and that this is a path of escalation which harms civilians and damages civilian infrastructure. On our side, we convey the message that we’ll continue to support Ukraine and also increase the cost on Russia.”

The spokeswoman said that the envoys attended the meetings in person.