The United States told the United Nations Security Council it would “defend every inch of NATO territory“ after an alleged Russian incursion into Polish airspace, Reuters reported.
“The United States stands with its NATO allies in the face of these disturbing airspace violations,” acting US permanent representative to the world body Dorothy Shea told the 15-member body. Reuters notes that the comments appeared to be aimed at reassuring Washington's NATO allies after US President Donald Trump said earlier that Russia's alleged drone incursion into Poland may have been a mistake.
Shea also noted that Russia has stepped up its bombing of Ukraine since Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as part of his attempt to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.
“These actions, now added to the violation of the airspace of a US ally - whether intentional or not - show enormous disrespect for the good faith efforts of the US to end this conflict,” Shea said.
Poland shot down drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the support of aircraft from its NATO allies. This is the first time a member of the Western military alliance has fired during Russia's war in Ukraine.
Slovenia's permanent representative to the UN, Samuel Žbogar, told the Security Council that "these are aggressive and dangerous actions, as it is difficult to imagine that so many drones flew so deep into Polish territory without wanting to."
Russia has said its forces attacked Ukraine during the drone incursion and that it had no intention of hitting targets in Poland.
"There were no marked targets on Polish territory. The maximum range of the drones used in this strike did not exceed 700 kilometers, which makes it physically impossible for them to reach Polish territory," Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, told the Council. He added that Moscow was ready to talk to Poland "if the Polish side is really interested in reducing tensions, not in inflaming them."
The United States joined Western allies in a joint statement to express concern about the entry of Russian drones into Polish airspace and accuse Moscow of violating international law and the founding Charter of the United Nations, Reuters reported.
The statement, read by Polish State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcin Bosacki before a Security Council meeting in Warsaw, also called on Russia to stop its "aggression against Ukraine" and refrain from further provocations. The joint statement was supported by 43 countries.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russia's drone incursion into Poland may have been a mistake.
"We know it was not a mistake," Bosacki told the council. He showed pictures of a downed drone, pointing to Russian writing on parts of it. "Poland will not be intimidated," he added.