Russian drones over Poland ‘wake-up call for the West’, Harris says

Russia’s incursion into Polish airspace “has to be a wake-up call for the West”, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.

It comes Polish leaders said multiple Russian drones entered and were shot down over its territory overnight, in a move the EU foreign policy chief said seemed “intentional”.

Speaking before a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Tanaiste Simon Harris said EU efforts to sanction Russia would be much more effective with the involvement of US president Donald Trump’s administration.

“We’ve heard President Trump talk many times about considering sanctions and thinking about sanctions. In our view, the time for thinking about them is over.”

Mr Harris said Europe is preparing more sanctions against Moscow, but expressed concern at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s escalating “campaign of terror”, particularly after last month’s summit between the US and Russian leaders in Alaska.

“While the world talks about peace, talks about de-escalation, talks about finding an end to the Russian aggression in Ukraine – President Putin continues his campaign of terror against the civilian population in Ukraine, and last night, escalated that further by the launching of many drones into Poland.”

His comments came as EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said there was a need for urgent work on a “new solution to finance Ukraine’s war effort”.

In her State of the Union address, Ms von der Leyen described the development as a “reckless and unprecedented violation of Poland and Europe’s airspace”, adding that there was a need for “more sanctions” on Russia.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Russia’s war is “escalating” rather than “ending”.

“Last night in Poland we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”

Irish premier Micheal Martin strongly condemned the “violation of Poland’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by Russia”.

He said: “This was a reckless and unprecedented act that is a stark reminder of the threat posed by Russia to Europe’s security.”

Mr Martin said Europe was dealing with a “catastrophic situation in Ukraine”.

He said Russia had launched a “very significantly increased attack” on Ukraine at an “extraordinary scale”.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Martin said: “I will be updating Cabinet in terms of the four meetings I had over August in respect of the coalition of the willing, and in terms of Ukraine and the need to do everything we possibly can to continue to support Ukraine.”