French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, September 11 that France would deploy three fighter jets to "help protect Polish airspace" after Warsaw accused Russia of launching a drone raid on its territory. "Following Russian drone incursions into Poland, I have decided to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to help protect Polish airspace and Europe's eastern flank alongside our NATO allies," Macron said on X.
"I made this commitment yesterday to the Polish prime minister," Macron said. "I also discussed this matter with the NATO secretary general and the British prime minister, who is also involved in protecting the eastern flank. "We will not give in to Russia's increasing intimidation," added Macron, who has been leading diplomatic efforts internationally to end Russia's war on Ukraine. No other details were immediately provided.
On Wednesday, Poland gathered its NATO allies for urgent talks after it said Russian drones flew into Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine. Poland's airspace was violated 19 times, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, and at least three drones were shot down after Warsaw and its allies scrambled jets.
The drone intrusion took place three and a half years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Poland branding the incident an "unprecedented" attack on the country, NATO and the European Union. Moscow has denied targeting Poland.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier Thursday discussed the drone incident with Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, his office said. "In both calls, the leaders condemned the shocking Russian violation of NATO and Poland's airspace," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "Discussing how the UK and France could bolster Poland's defences, the prime minister said the UK stood ready to support any further NATO deployments to the region."
The UN Security Council is set to discuss the drone raid in an emergency meeting on Friday, called at Poland's request.