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Russian diplomats summoned to Belgium’s MFA over Poland drone incident

The Belgian authorities complained about what they called a "deliberate violation" of the airspace of an EU member state which they described as "another major escalation by Russia targeting the EU and NATO"

BRUSSELS, September 11. /TASS/. The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Russia’s newly-appointed Ambassador to Belgium Denis Gonchar and the charge d’affaires ad interim over a recent drone incident in Poland, Belgium’s news agency Belga reported, citing a statement from the country’s MFA.

According to the news agency, at the meeting, the Belgian authorities complained about what they called a "deliberate violation" of the airspace of an EU member state which they described as "another major escalation by Russia targeting the EU and NATO."

In the early hours of September 10, the Polish army reported downing several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that had invaded the country’s airspace. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that 19 UAVs had violated the country’s air borders, flying from Belarus, on the night of September 9-10. NATO, at the request of Poland, invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty to begin consultations among allies.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on Tuesday night, Russia attacked military enterprises in the Ivano-Frankovsk, Khmelnitsky, Zhitomir Regions, as well as in Vinnitsa and Lvov. No targets for destruction in Poland were planned, the ministry added. The range of the UAVs that allegedly crossed the border with Poland does not exceed 700 km. The Defense Ministry said it is ready for consultations with Poland on this topic.