Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the leaders of Poland, Great Britain, Italy and NATO the new threats from Russia after the drone attack on Ukraine and Poland and stressed the need for joint actions to counter the new threats, Ukrinform reported, citing his statement on Telegram, BTA reported.
"I spoke with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Of course, first of all, we discussed the Russian drones launched against Ukraine last night, which also entered Polish airspace," he reported.
Zelensky recalled that incidents with one or two Russian drones had already occurred earlier in the countries of NATO's eastern flank, including in Romania a few weeks ago.
"But this time the number of Russian drones was much greater, the audacity - much greater - the drones entered not only from Ukrainian territory, but also from Belarus. And we all understand that this is a completely different level of escalation on the part of Russia. There must be an appropriate response," he stressed.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, for his part, reported on the already established consequences and circumstances, including the fact that the remains of Russian drones, including Iranian shaheeds, were found in a number of cities and villages.
"Since last night, our military has been sharing all the information we have, and we continue this cooperation," the Ukrainian president noted. According to him, there are several reasons for such behavior on the part of Russia "and they are absolutely obvious to everyone".
Zelensky added that the countries should work on a joint air defense system and create an effective air shield over Europe. "Ukraine has long proposed this, and we have concrete solutions. We must jointly respond to all current challenges and be ready for potential threats to all Europeans in the future," the head of state emphasized.
He added that it is also necessary to jointly and significantly increase funding for the production of interceptor drones, "they have already proven their effectiveness."
In addition, Zelensky offered Poland assistance, training and expertise in shooting down Russian drones, including the "Shahed" type.
"Donald and I agreed on appropriate cooperation at the military level. We will also coordinate our actions with all NATO member states," he noted.
As reported, on the night of September 10, Polish forces shot down drones that repeatedly violated Polish airspace. Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament at an extraordinary session today that a total of 19 drones had entered Polish airspace overnight, Ukrinform reported.