Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski poses for a photo in downtown Kyiv on Sept. 13, 2025. Sikorski arrived to Ukraine to meet the country’s leadership and take part in the YES conference. (MSZ/Konrad Laskowski)
Russia has faced little to no consequences following its brazen Sept. 10 attack on Poland, yet Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski is upbeat about NATO’s response and how things have played out since.
“I think Russia lost this confrontation,” Sikorski told the Kyiv Independent in an interview on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference held in Kyiv on Sept 12-13.
Poland downed only four out of 19 drones that entered its airspace, with one of the drones falling nearly 400 kilometers west of the Ukrainian border. The attack forced NATO allies to scramble jets worth millions to down drones worth just thousands.
Warsaw formally requested consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows member states to call for discussions with allies if they believe their security is threatened, but falls short of Article 5, which obliges all members to treat an attack on one member as an attack on all and provide assistance.
NATO on Sept. 12 announced a new deterrence operation called “Eastern Sentry,” but Sikorski said Russia faced no retaliation for the attack on a NATO member “because there was only minor property damage and nobody died.”
When asked if “people dying” or an attack on Rzeszow airport, which is a key logistics hub for allied support for Ukraine, would reach the threshold for triggering Article 5, Sikorski agreed and added: “Which Russia is coming dangerously towards.”
“Some media are speculating that the trajectory of some of the drones was towards Rzeszow, the main airport through which equipment to Ukraine gets through,” he said.
“Our first duty is to protect the hub from Russian sabotage, from Russian espionage, and from Russian kinetic attacks. And we are in charge of managing this complex logistical operation.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski talks to the Kyiv Independent in downtown Kyiv on Sept. 13, 2025. Sikorski arrived to Ukraine to meet the country’s leadership and take part in the YES conference. (MSZ/Konrad Laskowski)
The Polish foreign minister agreed that the Russian attack was an attempt to probe NATO defense and the commitment of the organization to protect its eastern flank. And while Sikorski said that the Polish response to the attack was a success, he acknowledged that his country needs to better prepare for similar attacks that may soon follow.
The threat from Russian drones was reiterated just a few hours after the interview when one entered Romanian airspace.
Ukraine has proposed its support in helping Poland build up its electronic warfare and interceptor drone capabilities. Ukraine has relied on targeting incoming drones with much cheaper equipment, predominantly using high-quality and high-cost fighter jets and air defense systems to down missiles, not drones.
The Polish Defense Ministry said on Sept. 12 that Ukrainian and Polish specialists will practice the use of drones and anti-drone systems on Polish territory.
According to the Polish ministry, talks are currently underway between experts from the two countries on deeper cooperation regarding drone and anti-drone systems.
“Well, that’s the other thing that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has achieved with this attack. Our public now demands, correctly, closer collaboration with Ukraine because you have the latest, most relevant experience and the latest weapons for dealing with Russian drones,” Sikorski said.
“So yes, (Putin) may have sped up Polish-Ukrainian collaboration in weapons production.”
Exclusive: Europe scrambles for Ukrainian interceptor drones after Russia’s attack on Poland
European countries are scrambling for Ukrainian anti-drone systems following the unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by Russian kamikaze drones on Sept. 10, officials and manufacturers have told the Kyiv Independent. “We were already previously discussing with the Ukrainian side investments in interceptor drones, but now we are even more interested in them,” a European military diplomat told the Kyiv Independent, on condition of anonymity. “We need to be prepared for war, so it is high
Sikorski added that the idea of closing part of Ukrainian airspace using NATO-stationed air defense might be back on the table following the attack.
“The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, was the first person I communicated with when the Russian operation against Poland started. Andrii Sybiha reconfirmed this Ukrainian offer, and I think by his action, President Putin has possibly brought forward this idea because we manage our space together, and opinion is shifting towards this idea.”
When asked whether the minister thinks countries on NATO’s eastern flank feel more or less safe following Russia’s attack on Poland and the reaction that followed, Sikorski supported his claim of success.
“I believe we have shown Russia that NATO is ready and united,” Sikorski said.
Statements coming from U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, are not so reassuring.
Trump said he was “not gonna defend anybody” when asked about Russia’s latest drone incursion into Poland during an interview with Fox News on Sept. 12.
A few hours before the Kyiv Independent’s interview with Sikorski, Trump said he would hit Russia with “major” sanctions only if all NATO members unite, stop buying Russian oil, and impose tariffs on China.
Sikorski had supported Trump’s demand to cut off Russian energy imports, pointing the finger at Hungary, a staunch proponent of keeping the flow of Moscow’s oil into the EU.
Sikorski was more cautious when asked about imposing tariffs or sanctions on China.
“We should sanction the aggressor. And the aggressor is the Russian Federation. And we in Europe have imposed 18 packages of sanctions. We are working on the 19th package of sanctions. That’s the relevant decision to be made.”
