Polish Troops to Train in Ukraine on Drone Defense After Russian Incursions
Polish troops will travel to Ukraine to receive training from local instructors on how to counter drones, as Warsaw intensifies cooperation with Kyiv following a series of Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the visit will allow Polish soldiers to study Ukraine’s battlefield-tested techniques for downing unmanned aerial vehicles.
The decision comes after the Polish authorities confirmed that debris from at least 15 Russian drones had been found in different regions of the country after nearly two dozen crossed the border overnight on September 10.
Poland has since restricted air traffic along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus. Germany also said it was prepared to reinforce NATO’s eastern frontier in response to Russia’s drone penetrations.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that Poland would closely coordinate with Ukraine on anti-drone defenses, describing Ukrainian systems as “the best” because they have been proven under wartime conditions.
“We will draw from the best examples, and Ukraine’s defenses in this regard are the most effective, as they have been tested on the battlefield,” Tusk told reporters.
He said talks with the Ukrainian side would take place in the coming hours and days to exchange experience and coordinate new joint measures.
High-level discussions between the two countries’ top commanders reinforced this message. On September 11, General Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the Polish General Staff, met with Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi to establish rules for sharing information on aerial threats and to explore cooperation in the deployment of reconnaissance and strike drone systems.
The latest initiatives follow one of the most serious escalations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The mass drone incursion into Polish territory marked a new level of risk for NATO, though the alliance has so far stopped short of classifying the incident as an “armed attack.”
As The Gaze previously reported, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and his wife Anne Applebaum arrived in Kyiv on Friday for a working visit amid growing security concerns in the region.