Healey asks military to look at how UK can help bolster Polish defences

The Defence Secretary has tasked the military with looking at how the UK can help bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland, after Russia sent drones into Polish territory that were shot down.

John Healey said Russian president Vladimir Putin is “testing us” with the “reckless” attacks overnight as he vowed that Western allies “will stand firm”.

Nato jets shot down Russian drones in what was the first defensive action of its kind since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Speaking after talks in London with defence officials from Poland, Italy, France and Germany, Mr Healey said: “Together we, the E5, totally condemn these attacks.

“Russia’s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented.

“We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.”

He also said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”

Mr Healey said the UK already had around 300 armed forces personnel in Poland.

Until July, six RAF Typhoon jets were operating from Poland as part of Nato’s air policing mission – a task shared between the members of the alliance, he said.

Mr Healey said: “We have 300 UK personnel in Poland at the moment, reinforcing Nato’s deterrence as well as the Polish deterrence and defence as well.

“And we will do what we can as part of Nato, as part of a collective response that Poland has asked for from us, its Nato allies.”

RAF jets were not involved in destroying the Russian drones overnight, Downing Street confirmed.

“I understand there wasn’t any UK involvement,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

“There’s a routine basis on which Nato allies contribute to these sorts of operations, which is based on usual Nato operations. We obviously stand ready to support in the usual way.”

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany played a role in the overnight response, with Dutch F-35 fighter jets stationed in Poland under Nato providing support to the Polish air force.

The alliance chief said Nato is “vigilant” and will defend “every inch” of its territory, in a message to Mr Putin.

Mr Healey was asked if he believed the Russian defence ministry’s denial that it intended to target Polish territory.

“We’ll make our own assessment,” he responded.

He added: “It should be no surprise to anyone that the first reaction from the Kremlin is to deny any responsibility, to deny any intent behind it.”

Mr Healey said Ukraine’s allies must put pressure on Mr Putin to do what he says he wants to.

“While Putin is talking to President Trump, in Alaska, he’s intensifying and escalating attacks on Ukraine.”

“We have to help support Ukraine to resist that Russian invasion.

“We have to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to go into any talks, and we have to work together to put pressure on Putin to do what he says. And what he says is he wants to talk.”

“What he says is he wants peace.”

US president Donald Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”

Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace during attacks on Ukraine.

It came three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began, an assault that hit a key government building in Kyiv for the first time.

Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz had been due to attend the meeting of E5 defence ministers at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, but flew home early on Wednesday morning to deal with the attack.

The early assessment is that it was around 20 drones and that defences worked effectively, Mr Healey said.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said 19 violations have been recorded so far, and that some of the drones came from Belarus.

Drones that posed a direct threat were shot down, Mr Tusk wrote on social media.

Mr Tusk told Polish MPs: “I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it’s incomparably more dangerous than before.”

He added: “This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had said around two dozen Russian drones may have entered Polish airspace during the night and that his military was working to verify this.

Prime Minister Sir Keir said he had been in touch with Mr Tusk to make clear the UK’s support for Poland and Ukraine, and thanked Nato and Polish forces for their rapid response.

“This morning’s barbaric attack on Ukraine and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones is deeply concerning,” Sir Keir said in a statement.

“This was an extremely reckless move by Russia and only serves to remind us of President Putin’s blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment innocent Ukrainians face every day.”

Sir Keir said the UK and partners will continue to “ramp up the pressure on Putin until there is a just and lasting peace”.