Spain, Netherlands summon Russian diplomats over drone incursions into Poland

GENEVA

Spain and the Netherlands summoned Russian diplomats on Thursday following suspected drone incursions into Poland’s airspace.

The Russian Embassy's charge d'affaires in Madrid was summoned to Spain’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday, according to the Spanish EFE news agency.

The Spanish diplomatic protest came a day after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones with the support of NATO aircraft, the first time a member of the alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel also announced on US social media company X that he summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday.

"Russia's reckless violation of Polish airspace threatens our European security. That is why I had the Russian ambassador summoned today, to make clear that we condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms. We stand firmly behind our NATO Ally Poland," he wrote.

Poland called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and introduced sweeping restrictions on civilian flights along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine.

"At the request of the Operational Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces, air traffic restrictions will be introduced in the eastern part of Poland in the form of the restricted zone EP R129," the agency said in a statement.

Under the measures, flights from sunrise to sunset are prohibited in the restricted zone, except for manned aircraft operating under a flight plan with appropriate transponders and two-way communication with air authorities.

Military flights and other special-purpose operations are exempted.

"From sunset to sunrise, there is a total ban on flights, except for military aircraft," the statement added, noting that civilian unmanned aircraft are banned around the clock in the EP R129 zone.

The restrictions come amid heightened security concerns in the NATO member state after Wednesday’s drone incident, which prompted Warsaw to step up coordination with allies.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its drones had carried out a large-scale strike on military targets in western Ukraine but denied any intention to hit Polish territory.