site.btaPresident Radev: Poland's Airspace Violation Can Dangerously Escalate Russia-NATO Tensions

"Violating the airspace of sovereign Poland leads to a dangerous escalation of tension between Russia and NATO," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev wrote on X on Wednesday. "Such actions also undermine the efforts to restore peace in Europe, which we need urgently now," the head of State added.

Earlier in the day, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia also posted a position on X, saying that "Bulgaria stands together in full solidarity with our ally Poland. Russia's repeated intrusions into NATO airspace are a threat to the Euro-Atlantic security. Such actions will be met with decisive measures to protect the Alliance." 

"Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine," Reuters reported. "Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland," the news agency added.

"The North Atlantic Council met this morning and discussed the situation in light of Poland's request for consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a statement on the organization's website. He specified that several Allies were involved alongside Poland, including Polish F16s, Dutch F35s, Italian AWACS, NATO Multi Role Tanker Transport, and German Patriots.

Article 4 states that "the Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."