Mertz on the flight of Russian drones to Poland: Air defense worked, but not as well as it should have

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the flight of Russian drones into Poland showed that NATO's air defense system in Europe needs to be significantly improved. The politician said this late on Wednesday evening, September 10, reports Politico.

"First of all, I would like to note that European air defense, NATO air defense, worked, but of course not as well as it should have in order to prevent such a large number of drones from entering Polish airspace early enough. This will trigger discussions within NATO. It will also trigger discussions within the European Union," said the German chancellor.

He added that "we are and will remain determined to significantly increase the defense readiness and defense capabilities of the European part of NATO."

Merz also noted that he shares the opinion of the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk that this flight of Russian drones was a deliberate act.

"The Russian government's claim that this was, so to speak, a coincidence or an accident is not credible," the German chancellor said.

• Merz also called the Russian drones' flight to Poland part of the "a long series of provocations" in the Baltic region and on NATO's eastern flank.
• The wreckage of 16 Russian drones was found in Poland, which flew into the country on the night of September 10. One of the locations was on the territory of a unit of the Territorial Defense Forces. Due to the crash of the drone, a private house was damaged. In addition to the UAV wreckage, Poland found fragments of a rocket. Warsaw confirmed the downing of some of the Russian drones. Tusk said that three or four of the 19 Russian UAVs were shot down.
• The Polish defense minister said that in response to the incident, Sweden has decided to urgently send its NATO ally military assistance, including air defense systems and aircraft.