Ukraine: UN Security Council to meet at Poland's request

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Russian drones could have been flown inadvertently into Poland earlier this week.

"It could have been a mistake," he told reporters. "I'm not happy about anything to do with the whole situation, but hopefully that's going to come to an end."

Several Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Wednesday in what Western officials called an act of aggression. NATO jets shot down the drones.

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski later strongly rejected Trump's suggestion, posting "No, that wasn't a mistake" on X.

France is to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to "help protect Polish airspace," French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

The announcement comes after Warsaw accused Russia of violating its airspace by launching drones on Wednesday.

"Following the Russian drone incursions into Poland, I have decided to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and of NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies," the French leader said in a post on X.

He added that he had discussed the issue with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

"The security of the European continent is our top priority. We will not yield to Russia’s growing intimidation," Macron said.

His announcement follows a similar pledge by Germany, which said it would "extend and expand air policing over Poland."

German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall will produce artillery shells at a plant in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday.

Shmyhal made the announcement after meeting with Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger on the sidelines of a major weapons fair in London.

In a post on X, the defense minister said "safe land" had been allocated in Ukraine for a future production plant "to manufacture Rheinmetall shells for the needs of the Defense Forces."

The plans for a new facility in Ukraine builds on the "effective cooperation" between Ukraine and the German weapons giant, which already covers production of ammunition, armored vehicles and air defense systems, Shmyal said.

The minister said he had discussed the "development of air defense, in particular how to jointly advance and improve solutions that will help us more effectively counter enemy drones," with the Rheinmetall CEO.

Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies to bolster their support for its weapons industry to help it defend against the Russian invasion, which is in its fourth year.

Lithuania is boosting its border security in anticipation of joint Russian-Belarusian military drills in neighboring Belarus. The exercises, called Zapad (meaning "West" in Russian), will be a testing ground for Russia's latest nuclear-capable ballistic missile.

Germany will expand its commitment to protecting NATO's eastern border following an incursion of Russian drones into Poland on Wednesday.

"In addition to existing commitments in the Baltics and Poland, the government will extend and expand air policing over Poland," German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius told reporters on Thursday.

Germany's defence ministry said it would double the number of Eurofighter jets deployed from two to four and extend their mission by three months to the end of the year.

Germany is also set to intensify support for Ukraine and work with EU partners on a 19th sanctions package against Russia.

In the early hours on Wednesday, NATO jets shot down 19 Russian drones flying in Polish airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine.

Poland and EU officials have said the Russian drone incursion was intentional. The incident was the first time since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Russian weaponry has been destroyed on the territory of a NATO member state.

Finland's President Alexander Stubb said Hungary and Slovakia are helping in funding Russia's "war machine" by still buying Russianoil and gas.

Stubb, who spoke during a visit to Ukraine, criticized Helsinki's fellow EU members for still contributing to Moscow's economy despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, while also adding Russia is "seeking escalation" following the shooting down of several Russian drones over Poland's airspace.

"I think President (Donald) Trump, when he says that Europe needs to stop buying Russian oil and gas, is right," the Finnish leader said, while standing next to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"The finger points in two places. One is Hungary, the other is Slovakia," Stubb said, also saying US President Trump needs to be "aware of who is feeding the Russian war machine by buying Russian energy."

The Dutch government has summoned Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands over the incident involving the Russian drones that violated Poland's airspace, according to Foreign Minister David van Weel.

"Russia's reckless violation of Polish airspace threatens our European security," van Weel explained, adding that Russia is risking "further escalation" with such actions. 

Several European countries condemned Russia for the violation of Warsaw's airspace, including Germany.

Russia has denied responsibility for the incident, saying the drones had carried out an attack in the western part of Ukraine and had not planned to hit targets in Polish territory.

Belarus has released 52 prisoners of various nationalities, the US embassy in Vilnius has said, adding the detainees are now on their way to Lithuania.

This comes after US President Donald Trump called on Minsk to release the prisoners, to whom Trump referred to as "hostages."

"A US-led delegation with President Trump's deputy assistant John Coale (is) heading to Vilnius after negotiations in Minsk," the embassy spokesperson said.

Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda said the prisoners' release was "a great diplomatic success," also hailing the US' "weight in the international community."

According to Nauseda, the released prisoners are from the UK, Latvia, Poland, Germany, France and Lithuania.

Russiareplied to statements of Poland and several other European countries about the interception of Russian drones over Warsaw's airspace, saying they're nothing new.

"There will be no new comment," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the Russian Defense Ministry had already commented on the incident.

Peskov said the "rhetoric" heard from Warsaw is "nothing new."

"This rhetoric has been characteristic of almost all European capitals lately," he said. 

The incident marked the first time a NATO member downed Russian military assets since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo says the US must take part in Ukraine's security setup.

This comes as country president Alexander Stubb is visiting Ukraine to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss security projects, European integration, infrastructure investments and security guarantees, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.

US President Donald Trump has been criticized for inconsistent policy towards Ukraine since taking office for a second time earlier this year.

Poland will restrict air traffic in eastern regions, a day after Russian drones violated Warsaw's airspace 19 times, with at least three of the drones being shot down.

The area along Poland's border with Belarus and Ukraine will be closed for civilian flights until December 9, the country's air traffic control agency said, adding the move is intended to "assure national security."

More than one million Russian soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine since Moscow's full-scale invasion of its western neighbor, the Ukrainian army says.

According to data posted on the Ukrainian military's page, a total of 1,091,890 Russian troops have so far been killed in battle, with almost 900 of them being killed in the past 24 hours.

more than 11,000 tanks and 32,628 artillery systems were also hurt.

Some 58,000 drones — or UAVs — were downed by Ukraine, with 422 aircraft and 341 helicopters also being affected.

Russia has not made the number of its casualties available.

The UNSecurity Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the incident in which Russiandrones entered Poland's airspace, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.

This comes after Warsaw downed several Russian drones that violated its airspace yesterday, marking the first time a NATO member has directly destroyed Russian military assets over its territory since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
 

We're looking at the backlash after Russian drones entered Polish airspace.

The UN Security Council is set to meet at Warsaw's initiative to discuss the incident, with the NATO member saying the attack is a provocation against the West.

Russia denies it targeted Poland.

We will bring you more information on this and the wider war in Ukraine, along with analysis and background content as it flows in.