Poland and about 40 of its allies on Friday denounced the intrusion of Russian drones into its airspace this week, calling on Moscow to avoid further "provocations."
"We are here to express our grave concern and to draw the attention of the international community to yet another flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations committed by the Russian Federation," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki told reporters before an emergency meeting of the Security Council requested by his country.
"Russia's reckless actions represent not only a breach of international law but also a destabilizing escalation that brings the entire region closer to conflict than at any time in recent years," he read from a statement signed by about 40 countries, including the 26 other members of the European Union, Ukraine, the United States, Japan and Canada.
"We take this opportunity to reiterate our call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its war of aggression against Ukraine, to renounce any further provocations, and to respect its obligations under the UN Charter," he said. "Escalation cannot lead to peace."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw was closer to "open conflict" than at any point since World War II after Poland and its NATO allies scrambled jets to down Russian drones violating its airspace early Wednesday.
Slovenia’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the Security Council,“They are aggressive and dangerous acts, as it is hard to imagine that so many drones flew so deep over Polish territory, unintentionally.”
Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.
Russia denied targeting Poland.
US pledges to defend NATO territory after Poland drone incursion
The United States told the United Nations Security Council on Friday it would "defend every inch of NATO territory" after a suspected Russian drone incursion into Poland.
"The United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these alarming airspace violations," acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the 15-member body.
The remarks appear aimed at assuaging Washington's NATO allies after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said Russia's alleged drone incursion into Poland could have been a mistake.
Shea also noted Russia has intensified its bombing campaign against Ukraine since Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as part of his bid to broker an end to Moscow's more than three-year war in Ukraine.
"These actions, now with the addition of violating the airspace of a U.S. ally – intentionally or otherwise – show immense disrespect for good-faith U.S. efforts to bring an end to this conflict," Shea said. Poland shot down drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.
“We know, and I repeat, we know that it was not a mistake,” Poland's Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki told the council.
He showed photos of a downed drone, pointing out Russian lettering on parts of it. "Poland will not be intimidated."