Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the Polish Parliament on September 17, 2026, that Russia plans to launch drone or rocket attacks on NATO countries supporting Ukraine, labeling them as "accidental" to avoid provoking NATO retaliation. Tusk cited intelligence from multiple sources indicating heightened Russian activity at border crossings between Ukraine and its European neighbors, with recent incidents suggesting an escalation in hybrid warfare tactics aimed at disrupting aid deliveries to Ukraine during the coming winter.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, warned Poland's parliament of Russia's plans to launch "hybrid" drone and missile attacks against Ukraine's allies, including potential strikes in NATO territory. This warning comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and European nations supporting Kyiv. Specifically, Tusk mentioned a real risk that Russian drones could fall within NATO countries' airspace or even cause destruction on their soil. He also noted that if such incidents occur, Russia would likely claim them as accidents to avoid provoking a stronger response from NATO. These claims are based on intelligence shared with Poland by NATO and other allied security agencies.
Written for “Russian Threats To Ukraine Allies” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score +0.45 for article 17431 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-18
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday (September 17, 2026) that Russia is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, among them Poland.
asserted
Russia → warn → them
Russia will pretend the attacks are “accidental” in order to “paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries" to rush to the defence of the member state coming under attack, Mr. Tusk said in a speech to the Polish Parliament.
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Tusk → pretend → Parliament
“There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction," PM Tusk warned.
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Tusk → be → destruction
“The official narration will be that it's an accident and there is no reason for NATO to think about a response,” he added.
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he → be → response
He said Russia was more dangerous because it was increasingly using jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster and thus are more difficult to detect by air defense before reaching their targets.
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which → say → targets
Mr. Tusk has been for months warning that Russia might be preparing a more serious hybrid attack against a NATO country.
uncertain
Russia → warn → country
His warnings have gotten increasingly specific as he received intelligence from NATO, Ukrainian and U.S. secret services, including the CIA, he said.
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he → get → CIA
In recent days, Mr. Tusk has said Russia was now focusing on attacking border crossings between Ukraine and its European neighbors in order to disrupt delivery lines to Ukraine.
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Russia → say → Ukraine
Four such incidents happened on Poland's border with Ukraine in the past week and several others took place in the last weeks on Ukraine's border with Moldova.
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others → happen → Moldova
Mr. Tusk said at the moment Russia was not ready for any peace talks “without the total capitulation of Ukraine.”
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Russia → say → Ukraine
“They are convinced the winter will be tragically critical for Ukraine.”
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winter → convince → Ukraine
He said last winter Poland stepped in with deliveries when Ukraine's energy infrastructure came under attack, but if border crossings are destroyed, it will be much harder for Warsaw to offer such help this upcoming winter.
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Warsaw → say → help
“Russia's goal is to destroy as much as possible the economy and logistics of Ukraine,” Mr. Tusk said, adding that intelligence indicates continuous attacks of “very high frequency and intensity” on six main Ukrainian cities should be expected in the near future.
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attacks → destroy → future
Mr. Tusk announced he would travel to Ukraine overnight to Friday (September 18, 2026), in what can be seen as an act of defiance against Russia after European leaders narrowly escaped a drone strike on a train near the Polish-Ukrainian border on Sunday (September 13, 2026).
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leaders → announce → Sunday
Officials usually keep their travel plans to Ukraine secret for security reasons.
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Officials → keep → reasons
In Kyiv, he said he would discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy how to defend against the new types of drones as well as discuss with partners including Slovakia about further sanctions against Russia.
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he → say → Russia
On Thursday (September 17, 2026), U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “major progress is being made toward establishing a US Army base in Poland” after a US delegation was in Poland last week to visit several possible locations.
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delegation → write → locations
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” Mr. Trump wrote.
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Trump → happen → ?
Poland has for years sought to host a permanent US base as a strong guarantee of its security in the face of the rising Russian threat.
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Poland → seek → threat
Poland's high defence spending and major U.S. arms purchases have persuaded the Trump administration to consider putting a permanent base in Poland even as it reorganises and reduces its overall military presence in Europe.
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it → persuade → Europe
In May, the U.S. unexpectedly withdrew troops from the total of around 10,000 stationed in Poland, causing confusion among European allies and nervousness in Warsaw.
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U.S. → withdraw → Warsaw
But officials in both Poland and the U.S. soon said the withdrawal was temporary and Poland was not expected to suffer from the U.S. troop reorganisation.
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Poland → say → reorganisation
The Aporia
