Poland calls emergency UN meeting over drone raid blamed on Russia

Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members including Poland several times since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but no NATO country has ever attempted to shoot them down.

The incident was "an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and our readiness to respond", Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Thursday during a visit to an airbase in western Poland.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss "the violation of Polish airspace by Russia", the Polish foreign ministry said without specifying a date.

Poland's National Security Council will also meet later on Thursday and the defence minister is set to brief parliament on the latest findings. 

Officials said drones violated Polish airspace 19 times, but there were no casualties and the damage was limited -- a house and a car were destroyed.

- 'Reckless' -

Poland boosted security on Thursday, closing air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of three kilometres (1.9 miles) until December 9.

The PAZP air traffic control agency said in a statement drones would also be banned.

The country had already announced ramped-up measures on the Belarus border to cope with military drills the country is carrying out with its ally Russia between September 12 and 16. 

The few open border crossings with Belarus would be closed starting on Friday over the Zapad ("West") drills.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday that the drone raid marked an unprecedented escalation of tension with Russia.

"This situation... brings us closer than ever to open conflict since World War II," he said as he briefed the lawmakers.

Tusk called a NATO meeting on Wednesday, invoking Article 4 under which a member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk -- only the eighth time the measure has been used.

A cornerstone of NATO is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed an attack on all.

NATO chief Mark Rutte denounced Moscow's "reckless behaviour" and hailed his organisation's "very successful reaction", telling journalists the alliance's air defences had done their job.

- Unity 'reaffirmed' -

The raid was condemned by Poland's allies around the world, with the European Union and Ukraine calling it a test of the alliance's resolve.

Nawrocki said late on Wednesday he had spoken by phone to US counterpart Donald Trump as "part of a series of consultations" with allies. 

"Today's talks reaffirmed our unity," he said.

China, which has never denounced Russia's war in Ukraine, said on Thursday it hoped Russia and Poland would solve the dispute through "dialogue".

"The Chinese side hopes that all parties concerned will properly resolve their disputes through dialogue and consultation," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing.

Poland is a major supporter of Ukraine and hosts more than one million Ukrainian refugees. It is also a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the country.

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