Reuters: Poland Will Send Soldiers to Ukraine. It's About Drones
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Kyiv's allies on Thursday to review their own air defense capabilities after Russian drones invaded Polish airspace.
Speaking in Kyiv during a visit by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelensky said that Ukraine is "open and ready" to provide support to its allies.
According to him, countries like Poland should analyze multi-layered air defense systems, because systems like Patriot are too expensive to shoot down cheap Russian drones. "No one in the world has enough missiles to shoot down all types of drones," he emphasized.
Zelensky said that Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Western long-range air defense systems but has developed a sophisticated internal strategy for repelling Russian attacks, is able to provide guidance to its allies on these issues.
Will Polish Soldiers Go to Ukraine? Zelensky: Tusk Agreed
He added that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already agreed to send military representatives to Ukraine on this matter. As reported on Thursday by a Reuters source familiar with the matter, Polish soldiers will undergo training in drone shooting.
The agency recalls that thanks to support from NATO allies, Poland shot down several drones on Wednesday that invaded its airspace. Reuters quotes President Karol Nawrocki, who said it was a provocation by Russia aimed at testing the reaction of Poland and NATO.
The operation against the drones used Patriot air defense systems, F-16 and F-35 fighters, Mi-24, Mi-17 and Black Hawk helicopters, AWACS and Saab 340 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, and ground-based radars.
Russia denied that it planned attacks on Poland. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow stated that the maximum range of the drones used does not exceed 700 km. The Russian side also expressed readiness to conduct consultations with the Polish Ministry of Defense.