However, according to diplomats, the allies decided that the meeting would be held under Article 4 of the alliance treaty.
Under Article 4, any member can call urgent talks when it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” are at risk.
The Polish case marked the eighth time the article has been invoked since the alliance was founded in 1949.
Today’s talks are the third time Article 4 has been invoked to address Russia’s incursions into and invasion of Ukraine.
Nato’s collective security is based on its Article 5 principle: if one member is attacked, the entire alliance comes to its defence.
That article has only been invoked once in the history of Nato, following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Russia had carried out a “reckless and unprecedented” violation of Polish airspace by “more than 10 Russian Shahid drones”, Von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.
“Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland,” she said.
She said Europe will defend “every inch” of its soil, urging investments in strategic capabilities to boost its “eastern flank” faced with the threat from Russia.
“Europe’s eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe. From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. This is why we must invest in supporting it,” von der Leyen said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones were “simply unacceptable” and urged Moscow to stop its “reckless behaviour”.
The Netherlands’ Air Force provided support in shooting down Russian drones over Poland, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said.
“It is good that Dutch F35 fighter jets were able to provide support,” he said on X. “The Netherlands stands shoulder to shoulder with our Nato ally Poland.”
Schoof said the “violation” of Polish airspace by Russian drones was “further evidence that Russia’s aggressive war poses a threat to European security”.
The Dutch defence ministry said earlier this year it would deploy F-35 jets to Poland for three months from September 1 to help patrol the airspace.
Russian drones and missiles have crossed into the airspace of Nato members Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania several times during the three-and-a-half-year war.
Poland hosts over a million Ukrainian refugees and is a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the war-torn country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for a common air defence system with Kyiv’s European allies as he accused Russia of “deliberately targeting” Poland by flying drones through its airspace.
Zelenskyy said it showed the need for a combined Ukraine-Europe air defence shield.
“Ukraine has long proposed to its partners the creation of a joint air defence system to ensure the guaranteed downing of ‘Shahids’, other drones, and missiles through the combined strength of our combat aviation and air defences,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
Russia has fired tens of thousands of drones at Ukraine in overnight attacks throughout the three-year-war, escalating its aerial barrages as peace talks have stuttered.
The Ukrainian leader said the violation of Poland’s airspace was a “dangerous precedent” for Europe, saying it was “no accident”.
“There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and travelling a short distance into neighbouring countries. But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting,” he said on social media.
He urged Kyiv’s allies to issue a strong response to the attack, which he called an attempt to “humiliate” Poland.
“Russia must feel that the response to this escalatory step, and even more so to an attempt to humiliate one of Europe’s key countries, will be clear and strong from all partners,” Zelenskyy said.
Kyiv has been pushing Washington and Brussels to advance hard-hitting sanctions on Russia that would hobble its ability to attack Ukraine.
-Agence France-Presse
