Poland's foreign minister is urging NATO allies to consider establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine in response to escalating Russian drone attacks, warning that shielding Ukrainian skies would also protect Europe.
The proposal was raised with Washington a year ago but requires broad allied support, Radoslaw Sikorski told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a story posted Monday.
"We as NATO and the EU could be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone; it can only be made with its allies," he said, according to The Wall Street Journal translation. "Protection for our population — for example, from falling debris — would naturally be greater if we could combat drones and other flying objects beyond our national territory.
"If Ukraine were to ask us to shoot them down over its territory, that would be advantageous for us. If you ask me personally, we should consider it."
The appeal follows last week's drone incursion into Polish airspace, which forced NATO to scramble fighter jets and highlighted the challenge of countering cheap but disruptive unmanned aerial vehicles. Polish officials said 19 violations occurred, with at least three drones shot down, though falling debris still caused damage.
The United States and other major NATO members have long resisted Ukrainian pleas for a no-fly zone, citing the risk of direct confrontation with Russia. President Donald Trump has reiterated that no U.S. forces will be deployed to Ukraine, even as European allies weigh postwar security guarantees for Kyiv.
Russia dismissed Poland's concerns, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accusing NATO of being "de facto at war with Russia," while insisting Moscow remains open to talks — but only if Ukraine cedes significant territory and renounces NATO membership.
The Russian drone swarm into Poland forced NATO to invoke Article 4.
Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty — NATO's founding charter — allows any member state to call for consultations whenever it feels its territorial integrity, political independence, or security are under threat.
Unlike Article 5, which commits allies to collective defense in the event of an armed attack, Article 4 does not mandate military action. Instead, it serves as an early warning and coordination mechanism, ensuring that allies can rapidly discuss potential threats and determine a unified response.
In practice, Article 4 has been invoked several times, often by frontline states bordering Russia or facing instability in neighboring regions, as a way to increase political pressure within NATO and signal solidarity without escalating directly to armed confrontation.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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