Vladimir Putin could launch strikes on "three European capital cities," fueling mounting fears of World War III after Russian drones breached NATO airspace.
Last week, multiple drones - including Iranian-made Shaheds - crossed into Poland, prompting a dramatic military response.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that 19 drone incursions had been recorded, with some entering Polish territory via Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.
Warsaw scrambled jets alongside NATO allies to shoot the drones down, marking the first time NATO forces have directly engaged with Russian military hardware since the war in Ukraine began.
Although the drones were not carrying explosives, the violation has stoked alarm that Russia is probing Europe’s defenses without sparking an outright war.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested Moscow was testing NATO’s response, while Ukraine’s UN representative Andriy Melnyk warned that Putin’s ambitions may extend far beyond Poland.
“If this escalation remains without a decisive response, Russia will not stop at Poland,” Melnyk said, per The Mirror. “Tomorrow it could be drones or even missiles that fall on Berlin, Paris, or London. And the next day something could even ‘accidentally’ fly across the Atlantic.”
He added that Ukraine agreed with Poland’s view that the incursion was not a technical mishap but “a deliberate act aimed at escalating tensions and testing the international community’s response to ongoing Russian aggression.”
Melnyk also blasted the UN Security Council, saying Russia “spits in our face” and warning: “If this Council does not act, if it cannot stop this new phase of escalation, we will not be talking about regional instability. We are staring into the abyss of World War III.”
Belarusian officials claimed the drones had “lost their way” due to jammed navigation systems, but many Western leaders dismissed this explanation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the incident “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe" on X.
“Moscow always pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and if it does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation,” he said. “Today there was another step of escalation - Russian-Iranian ‘Shaheds’ operated in the airspace of Poland, in NATO airspace. It was not just one ‘Shahed’ that could be called an accident, but at least eight strike drones aimed toward Poland.”
The 47-year-old added: “Whether there will be further steps depends entirely on the coordination and strength of the response. The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must feel that the war cannot be expanded and will have to be ended.”
He also urged the West to strengthen sanctions and send more weapons to deter further attacks: “The pause in sanctions has gone on far too long. Delaying restrictions on Russia and its accomplices only means increasing the brutality of the strikes.”
The United States has echoed those concerns as Dorothy Shea, the U.S. Acting Permanent Representative to the UN, said Washington remains committed to defending “every inch of NATO.”
Representative Joe Wilson called the drone incursion an “act of war” and demanded tougher sanctions to “bankrupt the Russian war machine,” while accusing Putin of “testing our resolve in NATO territory," per The Hill.
Meanwhile, France revealed that it deployed three Rafale fighter jets to Poland to help secure NATO’s eastern flank. President Emmanuel Macron said the move was coordinated with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, adding that further aggression will not go unchecked.