Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday warned that Russia’s overnight drone barrage, which sent multiple drones into Polish airspace, poses “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe.”Zelenskyy said that at least eight Russian drones were “aimed toward” Poland during the overnight attack, forcing Warsaw to activate its air defences. “Moscow always pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and if it does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation,” he wrote in a lengthy post on X. “Today there was another step of escalation – Russian-Iranian ‘shaheds’ operated in the airspace of Poland, in Nato airspace. It was not just one ‘shahed’ that could be called an accident, but at least eight strike drones aimed toward Poland,” Zelenskyy said.Calling the incident “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe,” he added: “Whether there will be further steps depends entirely on the coordination and strength of the response. The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must feel that the war cannot be expanded and will have to be ended.” He urged partners to act swiftly: “The pause in sanctions has gone on far too long. Delaying restrictions on Russia and its accomplices only means increasing the brutality of the strikes. Sufficient weapons are needed to deter Russia. A strong response is needed – and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States. I thank everyone who is helping.”Poland confirmed the breach of its airspace. “During today’s attack by the Russian Federation carrying out strikes on targets located in Ukraine, our airspace was repeatedly violated by drone-type objects. An operation is underway to identify and neutralise these objects,” Poland’s Operational Command said in a statement posted on X.The escalation comes as diplomatic efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine continue. In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump invited Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to Alaska for talks on a possible ceasefire, and later hosted Zelenskyy at the White House alongside European leaders. However, no agreement was reached.
