‘Reckless and escalatory’: Carney condemns Russian incursion into Poland
- You can read more here on what it means for Poland to invoke NATO’s Article 4 after Russia’s drone incursion.
Russia’s drone incursion into Poland on Tuesday was “reckless” and shows a “total disregard” for peace efforts, Prime Minister Mark Carney says.
“Russia’s incursion into Polish airspace last night was reckless and escalatory. Canada stands with Poland and our NATO Allies,” Carney said in a statement posted to X.
Poland said Wednesday that multiple Russian drones entered its territory over the course of several hours and were shot down with help from NATO allies, describing the incursion as an “act of aggression” carried out during a wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Canada is watching the situation vigilantly, Carney said.
“We are closely co-ordinating with them, and we will remain vigilant against Russia’s attempts to widen and prolong the conflict with Ukraine,” Carney said.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “demonstrating once again his total disregard for the path of peace.”
“Russia’s actions — following a week of brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians — underscore the importance of our steadfast support for Ukraine. To bring lasting peace to Ukraine and Europe, we must increase the pressure on Putin to end this war,” Carney said.
The Kremlin refused to comment, but its close ally, Belarus, said it tracked some drones that “lost their course” because they were jammed.
However, several European leaders said they believe that the incursion amounted to an intentional escalation by Russia of its war on Ukraine.
Poland said some of the drones came from Belarus, where Russian and Belarusian troops have begun gathering for war games starting on Friday.
Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but there has been nothing on this scale in Poland or in any other Western nation along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
A NATO spokesperson said it was the first time the alliance has confronted a potential threat in its airspace.
— With files from The Associated Press
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