Zelensky offers Poland assistance in shooting down Shaheds and calls on Europe to create joint air shield

The President reported this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

“I spoke with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of the UK Keir Starmer, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Of course, first and foremost, we discussed the Russian drones launched against Ukraine last night that also entered Polish airspace,” he informed.

Zelensky recalled that incidents with one or two Russian drones had already occurred earlier in NATO’s eastern flank countries, including in Romania a few weeks ago.

“But this time the number of Russian drones was much larger, the brazenness much greater – the drones entered not only from Ukrainian territory but also from Belarus. And we all equally understand that this is a completely different level of escalation from Russia. There must be an appropriate response,” he emphasized.

In turn, Tusk informed about the consequences and circumstances already established, including the fact that debris of Russian drones, among them Iranian Shaheds, were found in many towns and villages.

“Since last night, our military has been sharing all the information we have, and we continue this cooperation,” the President noted.

According to him, there are several reasons for such brazen behavior by Russia, “and they are absolutely obvious to everyone”.

Zelensky stated that countries must work on a joint air defense system and create an effective air shield over Europe. “Ukraine has long proposed this, and we have concrete solutions. We must respond together to all current challenges and be ready for potential threats to all Europeans in the future,” the Head of State stressed.

He added that it is also necessary to jointly and significantly increase funding for the production of interceptor drones, “they have already proven their effectiveness”.

In addition, Zelensky offered Poland assistance, training, and expertise in shooting down Russian drones, including Shaheds.

“Donald and I agreed on appropriate cooperation at the military level. We will also coordinate with all NATO member states,” the President noted.

As reported, Polish forces on the night of September 10 shot down drones that repeatedly violated Polish airspace. Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament at an emergency session on Wednesday morning that a total of 19 drones had entered Polish airspace during the night.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the decision to activate NATO Article 4 would be useful for Poland and the Alliance, as it would help realize the risks of war expansion in the absence of a reaction to Putin’s actions.

Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram