At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council convened on the evening of September 12, 2025 over a threat to peace and security after Russian drones entered Polish airspace, 43 countries, including the United States, issued a joint condemnation of Moscow’s actions. The session followed the discovery in Poland of debris from 16 drones; during the incident, the country’s four largest airports were temporarily closed.
Polish Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki said the episode amounted to a serious violation of international law and Polish sovereignty. He displayed photographs of damage to a private house and of the drone wreckage. According to Warsaw, Russian-language markings indicated the drones’ origin, although the BBC noted that the published images showed not strike UAVs but Gerbera decoy drones.
“Poland will not be intimidated; our resolve to defend Ukraine and the principles of territorial integrity is unwavering,” Bosacki said.
Belarus’s acting representative to the UN, Artyom Tozik, said Minsk had warned Poland in advance about the approaching drones and that some of them were shot down by Belarusian air defenses. Poland’s General Staff confirmed receiving such information. At the same time, Warsaw maintained that a significant share of the drones had been launched from Belarusian territory.
Acting US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said Washington was consulting NATO allies under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the launch of a new mission to reinforce Europe’s eastern flank, Eastern Sentry, which he said would involve Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and other allies.
“Rest assured, we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Dorothy Shea said.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya rejected the allegations, saying Poland had presented no proof of Russian involvement and that the drones’ appearance in Poland could have resulted from a technical malfunction or electronic warfare interference. Polish, Ukrainian and EU representatives, by contrast, described the incident as deliberate escalation. UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo warned that such actions undermine diplomatic efforts and come amid new large-scale Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities.