Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has sparked a big discussion by suggesting NATO should consider a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop Russian drones from getting too close. This idea comes after Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week, forcing NATO jets to shoot them down. Don’t worry—the drones weren’t armed, officials confirmed.
In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, Sikorski explained that NATO and the EU could pull this off together. “It’s not something Poland can decide alone; we need our allies on board,” he said. He pointed out that fighting these drones outside Poland’s borders would better protect people from falling debris. “If Ukraine asks us to take them down over their land, that would help us a lot. Personally, I think we should look into it,” Sikorski added.
This isn’t the first time a no-fly zone over Ukraine has been floated. Back in 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for it. But NATO leaders, including under the Biden administration, turned it down. They worried it could lead to direct fights with Russian planes. Sikorski’s new proposal seems narrower, targeting just drones that head toward NATO countries like Poland.
The incident that lit this fire happened last Wednesday. Poland’s interior ministry reported 16 Russian drones spotted across the country. Polish and Dutch fighter jets, backed by Italian, German, and other NATO forces, jumped into action and intercepted them. The whole operation lasted seven hours, Sikorski said, calling it no accident. Russia offered two excuses: the drones wandered over by mistake, or they couldn’t even reach that far. But Russia’s defense ministry claimed they only hit targets in Ukraine, with no plans for Poland. They say their drones max out at 700 kilometers (about 435 miles).
The worry isn’t just in Poland. Just days later, on Saturday, Romania had to scramble its jets when a Russian drone violated its airspace too. This shows how Russian drone activity is raising alarms across the region, especially near NATO borders.
As tensions simmer in the Russia-Ukraine war, moves like this could change how NATO responds to threats. Will allies back Sikorski’s call? For now, it’s a hot topic in European security talks.
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