U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sept. 13 that it remains unclear whether Russia’s recent drone incursion into Polish airspace was intentional.
Rubio’s comments come three days after Poland shot down multiple Russian drones over its territory, marking the first time a NATO country has engaged Russia’s military assets since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
“We think it’s an unacceptable and unfortunate and dangerous development,” Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews when asked whether the U.S. had many any final decisions regarding the incident.
“I think it’ll take a few more days for everybody to fully — the drones were intentionally launched. There’s no doubt about the drones were intentionally launched. The question is whether the drones were targeted to go into Poland specifically.”
Nineteen Russian drones were recorded crossing into Poland on Sept. 10, in what Polish officials described as a deliberate violation of its airspace. German media outlets reported that the drones were headed for Rzeszow Airport, a key logistics hub for aid to Ukraine.
While European leaders were quick to condemn Russia’s drone breach, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 11 that the incursion “could have been a mistake.”
Polish officials swiftly rejected Trump’s assessment.
“No, it wasn’t a mistake,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote in response.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk followed up with similar remarks: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” he said. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
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According to Rubio, Washington is not yet convinced. He said there was “a lot of gathering” of information still underway in order to determine whether Russia intentionally sent drones into Poland.
“If that’s the case — that the evidence leads us there — then obviously that’ll be a highly escalatory move,” he said.
“There are a number of other possibilities as well. But I think we’d like to have all the facts and consult with our allies before we make specific determinations.”
In response to the Russian drone incursion, NATO launched Eastern Sentry, a mission to bolster defenses along the alliance’s eastern flank in response to escalating Russian aggression.
As part of the mission, Czechia will provide Mi-171S helicopters, Denmark will contribute two F-16s and an anti-air warfare frigate,France will contribute three Rafale fighter jets, and Germany will contribute four Eurofighters. The U.K. also said it is willing to help.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council convened on Sept. 12, the U.S. vowed to defend “every inch of NATO territory” in the wake of “alarming airspace violations.”
Russia continues to deny responsibility for the drone breach. Days after the incursion, a Russion drone violated Romanian airspace, causing the country to scramble fighter jets in response.
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Russia’s “unprecedented” violation of Poland’s airspace earlier this week made one thing very clear — it’s not just Ukraine that has to be concerned about Moscow’s long-range attack drones anymore. At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace overnight on Sept. 10, prompting what was the first case of NATO directly engaging Russian military assets during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For most people outside of Ukraine, their frame of reference for a drone is a typical quadcopter, t
