Will The West-2025 Exercise Bring New Provocations?
- 10.09.2025, 17:37
This is not the time to bury your head in the sand.
Russian drones violated Poland's airspace, prompting an unprecedented response from the army and authorities. NATO has responded to the incident, and the situation could escalate further with the Russian-Belarusian Zapad exercise, which begins near the Polish border.
-"We are dealing with a provocation on a large scale," said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, commenting on the numerous Russian drones that violated Polish airspace. It was the first time such a large number of aircraft crossed the Polish border in one night.
And the first time Poland faced such a reaction. Previously, it was complained that the drones penetrated, unexpectedly for the military and civilian services. This time was different: for the first time, the civilian air zone over part of the country was closed to allow military aircraft to operate. For the first time, the Polish military - with the participation of allies, most notably the Netherlands - used means to neutralize Russian drones. It was the first time objects flown from Russia were shot down in a NATO state.
There is little doubt that what happened is linked to Friday's upcoming Zapad-2025 military maneuvers, a joint exercise between the armed forces of Belarus and Russia taking place near the Polish border. During the past maneuvers "Zapad-2021" the Russians redeployed troops closer to the border with Ukraine, and a few months later these forces were used to attack the country.
The peculiarity of the situation is also confirmed by the reaction of Polish politicians. This time the opposition and the coalition did not enter the conflict. The president met with the prime minister before seven in the morning. The prime minister emphasized that all communications would be agreed upon by both sides. Politicians of the Law and Justice party even spoke quite favorably about the actions of the public services. In this extraordinary situation, the politicians managed to act responsibly.
We can clearly see: the jokes are over. The war on the eastern Polish border has crossed the border again - for the first time on such a scale. Since we are dealing with an emergency situation and a coordinated response of the state, the services, the army and the political class, Russia's response must be unprecedented.
This is not the time for a show of force, but it is also not the time to hide our head in the sand. In concert with allies - above all the United States - an adequate response must be planned. Especially considering that this may be only the beginning of Russian provocations. The Zapad-2025 maneuvers will not officially begin until Friday.
Michal Szuldzynski, "Rzeczpospolita"