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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has rejected a suggestion by Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky that Poland would not be able to protect its population from a mass Russian drone attack. He called the remarks “unnecessary and untrue”.
During an interview this week with British broadcaster Sky, Zelensky was asked about drone defences in his own country and in Poland, which last week saw its airspace violated by around 20 Russian drones.
He noted that, during one recent attack, Ukraine had faced 810 Russian drones and had shot down over 700 of them. By contrast, Poland “had I think 19 drones and they destroyed four”.
The Poles “are not at war, that’s why its understandable that they are not ready for such things…And of course they can’t save [their] people if they will have a massive [drone] attack”, he added.
The full answers to every question – @SkyYaldaHakim meets @ZelenskyyUa for a revealing interview in Kyiv. Trump, Putin, sanctions and drones among the topics as the President makes his case – watch it all here, just short of a full hour. https://t.co/dcLIDhZ8v6
— Tim Singleton (@TimSingSkyNews) September 16, 2025
Asked about those remarks on Wednesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Zelensky’s words were “unnecessary and untrue” and that he was confident in “our skills and abilities” to defend Polish airspace.
“I can agree that we are not in a state of war,” added the minister, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “But I always said that if such a need arose [to shoot down drones], weapons would be used. And that’s what happened [last week].”
During Russia’s drone incursions, Poland and its NATO allies scrambled aircraft to respond to the threat. They used missiles to shoot down some of the drones. However, the Polish authorities have emphasised that they did not shoot down others that were not deemed a threat.
This week, Polish media reports revealed that a house in eastern Poland damaged during the incident was not hit by a Russian drone, as initially claimed, but by a missile fired at a Russian drone by a Polish F-16 aircraft.
On Wednesday, the security services minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, confirmed that was indeed probably what had happened. However, he and other government figures, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk, note that Russia still bears responsibility for the incident.
After the drone incursions, NATO launched a new mission, named Eastern Sentry, that will bolster air defences in Poland. Allies including France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the Czech Republic have committed to sending more equipment and personnel to Poland to assist.
President @NawrockiKn has approved the deployment in Poland of foreign NATO forces as part of the alliance’s response to this week’s incursion by Russian drones into Polish airspace https://t.co/MMjPKL7fRO
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 14, 2025
In his interview with Sky, Zelensky also said that Ukraine was ready and willing to help Poland and other allied countries improve their drone defences by drawing on Ukraine’s experience.
“I had a conversation with Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, when they were attacked,” said Zelensky. “I said that we are ready to train your soldiers, your forces, they really need it.”
On Thursday morning, Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that he was making a previously undisclosed visit to Kyiv for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal. He revealed that, later in the day, the two sides would sign an agreement that includes “acquiring skills in the field of drone operation”.
#UKRAINA / Wicepremier W. @KosiniakKamysz: Podpiszemy porozumienie dotyczące współpracy pomiędzy ministerstwami, ale też zdobywania umiejętności w zakresie operowania dronami. Rozmowy będą dotyczyły rozwoju wspólnych inicjatyw przemysłu. Myślę, że na to Polacy bardzo czekają – po… pic.twitter.com/DUO21aU7rH
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) September 18, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: President of Ukraine/Flickr (under public domain)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
