Minister reveals threshold for triggering NATO's Article 5 after Russian drone incursions

NATO troops in Poland (Image: Getty)

A Polish minister has revealed what he believes would be the threshold for the triggering of NATO’s Article 5 principle, days after tensions skyrocketed following a Russian drone incursion. Western officials believe up to 24 Russian drones entered Polish airspace in the early hours of Wednesday last week, with Warsaw accusing the action of being deliberate — a claim Moscow denies.

NATO has bolstered its eastern flank following the incident which saw Poland invoke the alliance’s Article 4 which enables member states to formally discuss threats to their security. Article 4 falls short of Article 5 — NATO’s collective security guarantee, with allies pledging that an attack on one member of the alliance constitutes an attack on all. Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he believes two incidents could lead to Article 5 being triggered.

Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski (Image: Getty)

In an interview with the Kyiv Independent, he agreed people being killed or an attack on Poland’s Rzeszow airport, an important logistics centre for allied support for Ukraine, would reach the Article 5 threshold.

He said Russia is “coming dangerously towards” this, adding: "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.

"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 Prime Minister Donald Tusk last week said the incursion “brings us all closer to open conflict, closer than ever since World War Two".

The incident was widely condemned, with Sir Keir Starmer calling it an “egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and NATO airspace”.

At least three Russian drones were shot down by allied fighter jets over Poland, with Mr Sikorski claiming Russia “lost this confrontation”.

Others expressed concern over NATO’s response, with the drones taken out at a considerably lower rate than that seen in Ukraine (around 80-85%).

No injuries were reported but property was damaged.

Days later, a Russian drone flew for around 50 minutes in Romanian airspace before leaving and heading towards Ukraine.

Speaking to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Mr Sikorski said NATO should begin shooting down Russian drones and missiles over parts of Ukraine.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, warned such action “will mean only one thing — a war between NATO and Russia”.