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Poland's prime minister warns Russia is preparing drone attacks on NATO states
September 18, 2026
Donald Tusk told Poland's parliament that intelligence assessments point to Russia widening attacks on Ukraine and its allies, including drones entering NATO territory.
Donald Tusk is Poland's prime minister. Poland sits on NATO's eastern flank next to Ukraine and hosts U.S. troops on a rotational basis.
Key facts
- Donald Tusk, who leads Poland’s government, said any such Russian strikes would be meant to "intend to paralyze NATO" and to make the case that Article 5 "exists only in theory."
- The outlet says it has covered Ukraine in English since 1995 and calls itself the country’s earliest such newsroom.
- It points to an audience that is 97% based beyond Ukraine’s borders as proof of a worldwide following.
- Tomasz Siemoniak, the Polish minister responsible for security services, held a meeting with John Ratcliffe of the CIA in the past week, shortly after a visit to Russia that drew wide comment.
- He said that once in Kyiv he would take up with Volodymyr Zelenskyy the question of countering newer drone models, and would raise added penalties on Russia with partners, Slovakia among them.
AP News reports that Donald Tusk, speaking in Poland's parliament, warned of a real risk that drones or other projectiles will cross into the territory of one or more countries on the eastern flank and cause destruction. Kyiv Post carries the same warning. NPR reports Tusk's judgment that such strikes “intend to paralyze NATO” and are meant to show that Article 5 exists in theory alone, a reading Politico and Kyiv Post carry as well. The Guardian reports his answer to Moscow, that “if anyone dares to attack us, they will face a resolute response from us and our allies,” and it adds his expectation that Russia will present any incident as an accident to weaken the alliance's willingness to invoke the treaty.
The surrounding detail is consistent across the outlets. AP News reports Tusk saying that intelligence reaching him from NATO, from Ukraine and from US secret services, the CIA among them, has sharpened his warnings, and that in Kyiv he would take up with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy how to defend against new types of drones, alongside further sanctions with partners including Slovakia. Kyiv Post reports that a visit to Ukraine is also expected from Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia. NPR reports that minutes after Tusk spoke, President Trump announced progress toward giving the US Army a permanent base on Polish soil, where American troops now rotate through, with AP News carrying the same announcement and Trump's line that the location will be announced very soon if it happens. The Washington Post carries a correspondent's account of drones targeting a train in Ukraine with a former CIA director on board.
Two points do not line up. One account places the assessment of the next few months with intelligence services in NATO, Ukraine and Poland; another account renders that attribution differently, which changes who is said to be making the prediction. One account also has Tusk saying that European parties now gaining in strength are looking for an excuse not to defend Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, while another does not carry the remark in that form. Settled across the outlets are the warning itself, the drone risk to the eastern flank, the pledge of a resolute response, and the base announcement that followed. Unsettled is whose assessment underlies the prediction and what Tusk said about those European parties.
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” wrote Trump.
Trump
Still developing
The open part is what Tusk warned about European parties, where the accounts do not settle what was said. Parts of the account were still forming by the time of draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- AP News — Poland warns Russia is planning drone or rocket strikes on NATO territory
- Kyiv Post — Tusk: Intelligence Warns Russia Plans ‘Accidental’ Hybrid Strikes Against Ukraine’s Allies - Kyiv Post
- NPR — Poland's prime minister warns of Russian 'accidental' attacks on Ukraine's allies
- politico.eu — Tusk warns of ‘accidental’ Russian strikes against Ukraine’s allies in fall and winter - politico.eu
- theguardian.com — Poland warns Russia planning ‘hybrid strikes’ against countries supporting Ukraine – as it happened
Toggle read the full reports of 5 of the 6 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.