Poland, Romania Detect Russian Drones, Scramble Fighter Jets

Poland and Romania were both forced to scramble fighter jets over the past few days after Russian drones entered their airspace.

Last Wednesday, Poland reported that between 19 and 23 Russian drones entered their airspace without ammunition. While Poland attempted to eliminate the drones, they were only able to shoot down three of them. Then, Romania confirmed yesterday that a Russian drone had entered their airspace as well. Romania was not able to shoot it down, as it was detected in an extremely remote area and disappeared from radar soon after.

The airspace breaches came just as Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine, hitting various cities with missiles and drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that the incident was completely intentional and was an effort by Russia to expand the war into two other countries. He also asserted that Russia knows exactly where each and every one of their drones is located, using the breach to ask Western countries for stronger sanctions against Russia.

Poland, on the other hand, alleged that the incursion was a "test," with Russian forces attempting to get an idea of how Poland would react to a surprise attack. While Poland declared that the operation was a success, they were only able to shoot down three out of 19 drones, suggesting that they may have lacked adequate preparation for such an incident.

Belarus, one of Russia's major allies, alleged that the drones had entered Poland by accident due to jammed navigation systems. Meanwhile, Russia argued earlier today that the drone that entered Romania belonged to Ukraine and was simply an excuse for Zelensky to request tighter sanctions.

Nevertheless, NATO has responded. The Czech Republic announced yesterday that they have sent three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland to assist them in defending against any future attacks, and Poland has shut down one of their primary border crossings with Belarus.

US President Donald Trump has also given up on his efforts to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, Trump has agreed to implement sanctions on Russia, but on the condition that all NATO countries stop purchasing Russian oil. He has also requested NATO member nations to impose significant tariffs on China as a penalty for buying Russian oil, forcing them to wean off their dependence on Russia as well.

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