Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
The UN security council will meet on Friday to hold an emergency meeting at Poland’s request after a number of Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace (15:43), which Poland argued was a deliberate provocation by Moscow (10:01, 10:12).
Poland’s president Karol Nawrocki warned that “this Russian provocation … was nothing more than an attempt to test our capabilities,” as he blamed Russia for the incident (11:08).
The EU said the incursion was “an aggressive and reckless act” and was “part of a serious escalation by Russia,” only reinforcing the bloc’s “support and resolve to support Ukraine.” (12:56).
Lithuania said the incident “understandably raised level of anxiety” about air security, stressing the need to bring “additional capabilities” to ensure timely response (11:45, 15:30). Germany also said it would expand and extend its air policing over Poland (17:02).
The Netherlands and Spain summoned top Russian diplomats to protest against the Russian drone operations (12:48)
But Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Gregory Grynkewich said the alliance “didn’t know” if the incursion was intentional, and said he had “low confidence” in the reported number of drones (12:05)
Separately, 52 prisoners of various nationalities were released by Belarus, and left for Lithuania with the US delegation that negotiated their release (13:42, 14:13, 14:51, 15:06, 16:09, 17:20)
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
New French PM Sébastien Lecornu promises ‘profound break’ with past politics
in Paris
The new French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has promised a “profound break” with past politics as he took over from the unpopular centrist François Bayrou, who was ousted this week over a proposed budget squeeze.
Lecornu, 39, who said “humility” was the key approach, now faces the difficult task of gaining enough support from France’s divided parliament to pass a budget if he is to avoid being swiftly ousted in the same way as Bayrou, and before him, the rightwing Michel Barnier, who only lasted three months.
“We will get there … no path is impossible,” Lecornu said on Wednesday.
Lecornu is the third French prime minister in only one year as the country has gone through a period of instability and political crisis since the centrist president, Emmanuel Macron, called an inconclusive snap election last year.
The parliament remains divided between the three blocs: the left, the far right and the centre, with no clear majority. A budget for next year must be agreed within the coming weeks, even though the political parties are at loggerheads.
Let’s also quickly take a look at the job ahead for the new French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu.
Over to our correspondent in Paris…
Belarus prisoners release - in pictures
RTÉ says Ireland will not be part of Eurovision 2026 if Israel participates
Lisa O’Carroll in London and Sam Jones in Madrid
This report comes after Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, has decided not to take part in next year’s Eurovision song contest if Israel is a participant.
RTÉ is the second of 37 broadcasters who took part in the event this year to have made participation next year conditional.
“It is RTÉ’s position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision song contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland’s participation will be made once the EBU’s decision is made,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
“RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTÉ is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.”
The decision will raise questions about its duty to be impartial as a public service news organisation.
Slovenia’s national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has also said it will participate in next year’s contest only if Israel is not involved.
This week the Spanish culture minister said Spain should not take part either. In an interview with the Spanish TV programme La Hora de la 1 on Monday, Ernest Urtasun said: “We asked for Israel to be expelled from Eurovision [earlier this year],” he said.
The Eurovision song contest will take place in Vienna next May and is the world’s second biggest TV event, with more than 160 million viewers.
EU insists it will take action on Israel, dismissing 'lip service' criticism
In other news, the European Commission has insisted that Ursula von der Leyen’s promise to take action on Gaza was not just lip service to critics of the EU’s inaction, promising the proposal to partially suspend the EU/Israel trade association agreement would come “soon”.
Von der Leyen yesterday said it would suspend its “bilateral support” with Israel and partially suspend the trade parts of the EU Israel association agreement in a move that was seen as a response to mounting criticism that the EU was failing to use its leverage with the Israel government over starvation and killings of civilians in Gaza.
The commission refused to go into details of the moves or the timeline under persistent questioning by reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
Asked how they could convince sceptics that the lack of detail signified inaction, the commission’s deputy spokesperson Olof Gill said this was not the case.
“I can reassure you that the commission’s proposals relating to trade related matters in the EU-Israel Association Agreement will come soon.”
A spokesperson on foreign affairs said the Commission was also looking at “nine individuals and five entities linked to violent extremists in the West Bank and East Jerusalem” but discussion on potential sanctions were “ongoing and confidential”.
Germany to expand and extend air policing over Poland after drone incursion
Germany will strengthen its presence in Nato’s eastern flank in response to the incursion of Russian drones into Poland, extending and expanding its air policing over Poland, a government spokesperson said.
In comments reported by Reuters, he added that Berlin would also intensify support for Ukraine and work within the EU towards the swift adoption of a 19th sanctions package against Russia.
Three Poles, eight Belarusian journalists working for Polish media among released
Poland has offered a bit more detail on the political prisoners released by Belarus.
Polish foreign ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński said three Polish citizens were in the group, without offering their names.
He said that eight Belarusian journalists working for Polish media outlets, including Belsat TV, were also released.
The group was en-route to Lithuania and further details will be released only after they have met with Polish diplomats expecting them in Vilnius.
UN security council meeting on Poland drone invasion confirmed for Friday
The UN security council meeting convened at Poland’s request after it accused Russia of violating its airspace with drones will take place on Friday, 3pm local time (7pm BST, 8pm CEST), the South Korean presidency said.
The meeting has been endorsed by several other members of the Council including Britain, France and Slovenia, according to diplomatic sources talking to AFP.
Zelenskyy urges Nato allies to rethink air defence capabilities after Poland drone incursion
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Kyiv’s allies to rethink their own air defence capabilities after incursions into Polish airspace by drones that Warsaw said were Russian, Reuters reported.
Zelenskiy said countries such as Poland should explore similar multi-layered approaches as missile systems such as the US-made Patriot were too expensive to use against cheaper drones used by Russia.
“No one in the world has enough missiles to shoot down all different types of drones,” Zelenskyy said.
Belarus journalist Ihar Losik was among the prisoners released on Thursday by Minsk, the Belarus affairs section of the US Embassy in Vilnius said.
It came as Trump representative John Coale said that the American president wants to reopen the US embassy in Belarus in the near future, normalise ties, and revive the economic and trade relationship, Reuters reported.
Coale was speaking in Minsk to Belarusian reporters after holding talks with president Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who agreed to release 52 prisoners – including Losik, 33 - in what he called a humanitarian gesture.
Fourteen foreign citizens were among 52 prisoners pardoned by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko at the request of US president Donald Trump, state news agency Belta said on Thursday.
The 14 had been convicted of crimes including espionage, extremism, and terrorism. They included six Lithuanians, one French citizen, one Briton, and two each from Latvia, Poland, and Germany, Belta said.
The freed prisoners are now on their way to Lithuania, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Vilnius said.
Polish military representatives will visit Ukraine for training on shooting down drones after Russian drones violated Polish airspace, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters.
It comes as Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said the country is closer to military conflict “than at any time since the second world war” as Warsaw and Nato allies weighed a response to an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.
Poland scrambled its own and Nato air defences, shooting down at least three drones, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine spread to Nato territory on Wednesday in the most significant way since the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
Lukashenko, after freeing 52 prisoners, says 'our task is to stand with Trump'
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said that he backs US president Donald Trump’s international peacemaking efforts, after freeing 52 prisoners at Trump’s request, state news agency Belta said.
“Our main task is to stand with Trump and help him in his mission to establish peace,” Lukashenko said, referencing Trump’s claim that he has solved six or seven world conflicts.
Lukashenko’s press secretary Natalia Eismont confirmed that all the released individuals had left the country, Russian news agency TASS said.
52 political prisoners released by Belarus after engagement with US
Meanwhile, we are getting reports that 52 prisoners of various nationalities were released by Belarus, and are on their way to Lithuania with the US delegation that negotiated their release.
Belarusian autocratic president Alexander Lukashenko earlier met with John Coale, a lawyer acting as envoy of US president Donald Trump, to discuss the release, Reuters said.
Coale passed a letter from Trump in English to Lukashenko signed “Donald“, Belta showed.
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda revealed that six Lithuanians were among the group, as he thanked the US and “personally Donald Trump” for their role in negotiating the release.
“Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom,” he added.
Belta reported the group also included two citizens each from Latvia, Poland and Germany, and one each from France and Britain.
14 foreign nationals were also pardoned, Reuters reported.
US embassy spokesperson confirmed that Belarus national air carrier Belavia will get US sanctions relief based on the engagement.
Climate groups write to EU to defend methane rules against US lobbying
Europe environment correspondent
In other news – and related to US lobbying – fourteen green groups have written to Ursula von der Leyen this morning to defend the EU’s methane rules, ahead of a tense meeting between EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen and his US counterpart Chris Wright.
The NGOs worry that US stakeholders will push to weaken EU rules that force fossil fuel companies to report and reduce their emissions of methane, a particularly powerful planet-heating gas. They urged the Commission on Thursday to defend its methane rules and warned against including them in the EU’s next deregulation package.
“The EU Methane Regulation and its Import Standard is a rare and strategic opportunity – to reduce emissions, improve impact, and develop global best practices,” the NGOs including the Clean Air Task Force and Global Methane Hub wrote.
The groups argued that holding the US to EU methane standards would provide an economic boost to gas companies, who currently lose large volumes to leaks and wasteful practices, and could even offer the US a competitive advantage, as many producers have already invested in methane reductions. Other US producers and politicians have previously criticised the rules as burdensome.
Jørgensen is meeting with Wright after last month’s trade deal, which saw the EU agree to buy $750 billion of US oil, gas and nuclear energy products over three years to avoid facing even higher tariffs from the Trump administration.
Wright, the former CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, has in recent days described climate change as real and deserving of attention but also promoted the burning of fossil fuels and attacked policies to cut emissions.
“Net zero 2050 is just a colossal train wreck,” Wright said in comments to the Financial Times that the US Department of Energy boosted on social media on Monday. “It’s just a monstrous human impoverishment program, and of course there is no way it is going to happen.”
'Too early' to offer details on 19th EU sanctions package
The commission spokespeople were also asked about the progress on the 19th package of sanctions, but they insisted it was “too early” to offer more details.
“So we have put in place 18 sanctions packages. The purpose of those packages, as you know, is to hit the Russian economy as hard as possible in order that it will bring Russia to the table to talk about peace.”
He stresses the EU’s engagement with the US on the next package.
“We’re not going to disclose the details of those meetings because confidentiality is vital in sanctions, discussions, but … we’re moving forward with the 19th sanctions package soon.
We will continue the discussions about how to most effectively coordinate with our global partners, including the United States on these issues.”
They declined to comment on media reports that US president Donald Trump dialled into discussions on sanctions.
'Aggressive, reckless act,' EU says on Russian drone incursion
EU foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper offered the European Commission’s response to the drone incident in Poland.
She said:
“And this aggressive and reckless act is part of a serious escalation by Russia. It threatens the security of EU citizens, the regional stability and international peace.
And this, once more, reinforces all our support and resolve to support Ukraine and its people in their defence against Russia.
So from our side, what we will do is to raise again the costs for Moscow by further ramping up the sanctions significantly on Russia and its enablers.”
Netherlands, Spain summon top Russian diplomats to protest against drone incursion
In the last half hour, the Netherlands and Spain have summoned the most senior Russian diplomats in their country over the Russian drone incursion into Poland.
Dutch foreign minister David van Weel told reporters that “Russia isn’t denying what happened; they are just saying it wasn’t aimed at Poland,” as he argued that whether it was “reckless or … malicious,” it was enough to summon the ambassador, AD reported.
Meanwhile, Spain’s foreign ministry said it wanted to express its official condemnation of “unacceptable” violation of Polish airspace, as it summoned the Russian charge d’affaires for a meeting, Reuters reported.
Grynkewich says 'don't know' if incursions were intentional, says has 'low confidence' in reports on number of drones involved
Pushed again on the Polish incident, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Grynkewich offers a bit more operational detail.
He says “we do not yet know if this was an intentional act or an unintentional act” from Russia.
He also cautions against focusing too much on the reported numbers of drones involved, saying:
“I would also have low confidence in any numbers that that you’ve heard of the number of drones. …
As we try to account for that and go into the technical details, will get a better understanding of how many there were, but I would not be able to tell you with any confidence today that it was 20 or that it was 10. We just have to get into the technical details to figure that out, to debrief the crews that were up see what they saw.”
He also offers a bit more detail on thinking when it comes to intercepting these drones, as he says:
“Anytime you’re using aircraft to defend against the drone attack like this, and I’ve got a fair amount of experience from this, from my time in the Middle East, you have to make choices about which drones to intercept and which ones not to, based on the number of aircraft you have airborne.
If something is going out into a field, you might let it go, versus it’s heading toward an airfield that’s critical to your combat operation.
So I’m confident that the aircrew and the forces made the right decisions about what they could do with the resources that they had.”
Grynkewich also gets pushed on whether Nato’s response would be the same if it faced a “swarm” of drones to which he replies:
“There’s no doubt in my mind, if we experience a drone swarm of hundreds, that is not an accident, that is not an incursion, that would be an attack against Alliance territory.
In that case, you’re looking at the activation of plans and the flow of additional capabilities into Allied Command operations, and under Saceur that we would deploy forward to help manage that.
I won’t get into the details of what our strengths and weaknesses are with that, but in event of an armed attack in an Article Five invocation, a lot more things would start to happen, and it would be a very different ballgame.”
Updated
'Lessons to be learned' from drone incursion in Poland, Grynkewich says
Grynkewich now gets a specific question on Poland.
He speaks about how allied command operations worked in this case, with every level “doing exactly what they were supposed to do, which was to defend Alliance territory.”
“I trust Alliance air crew and Alliance forces to execute that mission every single day, and we’ll do the same anytime something is coming toward Alliance territory,” he says.
He says the response was “well executed,” adding that “I’m sure there are lessons that we’ll learn that can make us better, but it was very well executed.”
“I’m very proud of our team that did this,” he says.
Responding to a question on high costs associated with the type of response scrambled on Thursday, he says “there’s absolutely more to be done” with “enhancements to weaponry that allow us to get to a lower cost per engagement” and “get us on the correct side of the cost curve.”
But he stressed:
“But when you’re when you’re an operational commander, and you have a capability and there’s an attack or an incursion into your airspace, the cost of the weapon doesn’t matter at that moment in time; you’re going to use it to defend our population.”
Nato SACEUR Grynkewich notes 'decisive' response to drone incursion in Poland
Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Gregory Grynkewich begins his speech by noting the anniversary of 9/11, as he reminds that it was the only time in Nato’s history that allies invoked Article Five of the Washington Treaty.
He says Lithuania is “a model ally … and a true friend,” meeting high spending targets in Nato and “setting an example for all of our allies.”
Grynkewich makes a passing reference to recent events in Poland while praising Lithuania’s work “on the political front within the Alliance,” saying it’s such actions that “have allowed Nato to act, as we did, decisively on the southern border of Poland in recent days.”
He says Allied Forces are doing more and working closely “to protect our population from drones” with a new reporting centre offering warnings about aerial launches against Ukraine that could cross into Lithuania.
He says the work in this area was “tested the night before last,” and he says that “based on the lessons from these events, we’re going to continue to work to improve our ability to defend every single inch of alliance airspace.”
Grynkewich also says that “the rotational air defence model is one that has a lot of my attention, and that I think, given the events in Poland and the other incursions here in the Baltic states, it’s very important to use this as an opportunity for allies to step forward and commit capabilities to that model.”
Russian drone incursion 'understandably raised level of anxiety in Lithuania,' defence minister says
Lithuanian defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė is giving a press conference with Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Gregory Grynkewich in Vilnius.
Šakalienė says that the events in Poland “understandably raised certain level of anxiety in Lithuania as well,” as she noted that “every one of us on the eastern flank is facing certain risk every single night.”
She also said that Lithuania continued to be remained about the force posture and continued presence of US troops in the region amid rumours that the US could look to reconsider its deployment.
“I presented the perception of deterrent factor of United States troops here in Lithuania. It’s crucial here to deter Russia,” she says.
On drones specifically, she says that there is need for “additional capabilities,” including “additional sensors to better detect drones.”
Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland condemn Russian drone incursion, call for coordination on air security, defences
Foreign ministers of Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland have just issued a joint statement “strongly condemning the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish territory,” calling it a “deliberate and coordinated attack” and an “unprecedented provocation.”
They recognised the need for “better coordination and operational coopration between our respective structures responsible for air security” to “prevent the harmful consequences of Russia’s outrageous actions.”
But they also called on international partners to “urgently strengthen Ukraine’s air defences and support Lithuania and Poland in their efforts to secure the eastern flank of Nato and the EU.”
Only an adequate and resolute response will half further escalation.
Updated
We have a bit more details on Poland’s decision to ban drone flights and introduce restrictions on air traffic along its eastern border with Belarus and Ukraine (9:39).
The restrictions, which do not affect passenger traffic, went into force at 2200 GMT on Wednesday and apply through 9 December, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
General aviation, mainly small and recreational aircraft and helicopters, can operate during the day provided they have a radio and transponder, but cannot fly at night, PANSA said.
Flights will be permitted only up to a height of about 3 km (1.86 miles) above ground level, it said. Commercial flights usually fly at altitudes over 3 km above the ground.
“The zone extends from 26 to 46 km inland, depending on the location,” PANSA statement read.
Russian drone attack was 'test of our capabilities,' Poland's Nawrocki tells airmen
Poland’s president Karol Nawrocki is now visiting a military airbase in Poznań-Krzesiny.
Thanking airmen for their service, he said:
“This Russian provocation, as the generals and our soldiers are well aware, was nothing more than an attempt to test our capabilities; our ability to respond, including that of politicians, the President of Poland, and the Prime Minister of Poland, to what is happening in today’s world, what is happening right now.
It was an attempt and a provocation to check the functioning within the North Atlantic Alliance and our readiness to respond.”
He continued:
“And for that, I want to thank you … because we have passed all these tests. Both the political test and the partnership test within the North Atlantic Alliance, carrying out our diplomatic tasks since last night, and above all the military test – your readiness to respond to the Russian provocation.”
Russia shows 'no respect for US or Europe' by Poland incursion, former US top general in Europe warns
Ben Hodges, former commanding general of United States Army Europe, warned that the Russian incursion into Polish airspace showed the Russian forces “have no respect for the US or Europe” as “they are quite certain that none of us will take any meaningful action.”
He also appeared to be critical of the way Poland responded to the attack, as he continued:
“Using fighter jets to shoot down drones? The Ukrainians don’t do it that way. We are still not prepared for Russian drones or missiles entering our airspace. We need ground-based systems, like those the Ukrainians use to shoot them down.”
Hodges also called for EU and US sanctions to be tightened further, arguing that many components in the drones used against Poland were “most likely [sourced] from western countries.”
“Companies know where and what they are selling. Saying, ‘we didn’t send this to Russia,’ is irresponsible. The priority should be on enforcing the existing sanctions, not adding new ones that will not be respected,” he told Polish website Wirtualna Polska.
'Putin will move towards peace when he realises he cannot win at acceptable cost,' Poland's Sikorski says
Poland’s Sikorski was also asked about the prospects for the war in Ukraine.
He told RMF FM:
“I am not one of those who believe in quick solutions. This is a colonial war. Historically speaking, such wars usually lasted about a decade.”
He continued:
“Putin will move toward peace when he realises that he cannot win it at an acceptable cost, and he still believes he is winning.
That is why talk of reaching an agreement with him in fact prolongs the war, because it reinforces Putin’s belief that he can achieve politically what his army is unable to achieve in Ukraine.”
Sikorski warned that Putin was “waging a hybrid war across all of Europe,” and “his goals, I believe, are more ambitious than some people think.”
“He not only wants to dominate Ukraine, but also to push the United States out of Europe and divide the alliance,” he stressed.
Poland says UN security council will meet over violation of Polish airspace
And it’s now confirmed: Poland says the UN security council will host an emergency meeting at Poland’s request.
“(We are) drawing the world’s attention to this unprecedented Russian drone attack on a member of the UN, EU, and Nato,” deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski told RMF FM radio.
“I have spoken before the UN security council in the past, and it seemed to me that our arguments resonated, that they broke through. We have not yet decided who will speak on behalf of Poland,” he said.
Sikorski also insisted that the attack was deliberate.
“19 violations of our airspace, several dozen drones identified, a few shot down, the action lasting 7 hours, the whole night – so we cannot say it was an accident,” he said.
Sikorski said Poland was getting “a tsunami” of declarations of support from allies, but “needs this to be translated to facts.”
He also warned against suggestions that the drones were of Ukrainian, not Russian origin, dismissing them as part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Morning opening: No-fly zone
Poland has requested an emergency UN security council meeting after an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace earlier this week.
As the fallout from the incident continues, Poland also seeks to step up its defences with plans to restrict air traffic in the eastern part of the country, in areas neighbouring with Belarus and Ukraine, which will be closed until 9 December.
Later this morning we should hear from Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich today and get his assessment on what happened in Polish skies on Thursday morning.
Separately, the focus will be turning to Brussels in the anticipation of more details about the next, 19th, package of sanctions against Russia and hopes that the measures could be closely coordinated with the US administration.
US energy secretary Chris Wright is in Brussels too, for talks on energy.
Looks like a busy day ahead. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Thursday, 11 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
