Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-18 · by Claudia Ciobanu The Associated Press
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the Polish parliament on Thursday that Russia may be planning hybrid attacks using drones or rockets against NATO countries supporting Ukraine, likely including Poland. Tusk stated that such strikes would be falsely presented as accidents by Russia to deter NATO responses and emphasized increased use of jet-powered drones due to their higher speed and difficulty in detection. He also mentioned intelligence suggesting ongoing high-frequency attacks on Ukrainian cities and disruptions at border crossings between Ukraine and its European neighbors.
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 Russia is planning to launch drone or missile attacks on countries supporting Ukraine, among them Poland. Tusk made this statement during an address to the Polish parliament amid escalating tensions between Russia and NATO-supporting European nations. According to intelligence assessments, these potential strikes would be labeled as "accidental" by Russian officials in order to paralyze NATO's collective response capabilities.
Tusk further elaborated that there is a real risk drones or other projectiles could enter NATO territory, causing destruction, and suggested Russia’s goal is to weaken Ukraine’s allies' economies and logistics. He emphasized the threat posed by jet-powered drones, which are harder for air defense systems to intercept due to their speed and altitude.
Additionally, Tusk plans to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday to discuss cooperation within the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition, aimed at developing an alternative air defense system with Ukraine. The warnings come after a series of Russian drone strikes near Poland's border and other incidents involving NATO airspace, indicating a significant escalation in Russia’s tactics against its adversaries.
Written for “Russia Plans Attacks On Allies” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.35 for article 17494 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-18
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday 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 defense of the member state coming under attack, 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,” 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 → ’ → 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
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, 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
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,” Tusk said.
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Tusk → 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,” 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
Tusk announced on Thursday he would travel to Ukraine overnight to Friday, 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.
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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, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland” after a U.S. 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,” Trump wrote.
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Trump → happen → ?
Poland has for years sought to host a permanent U.S. 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 defense spending and major U.S. arms purchases have persuaded the Trump administration to consider putting a permanent base in Poland even as it reorganizes 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 reorganization.
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Poland → say → reorganization
The Aporia
