By sending a barrage of drones into Polish airspace, Russia is testing Nato’s military response and Europe’s political resolve to stand behind Ukraine with arms and security guarantees in the event of escalation.

The timing can hardly have been a coincidence. Less than a week ago, a 26-nation “coalition of the willing” led by France and the UK announced an agreement on a “reassurance force”, intended to help guarantee Ukraine’s security after any ceasefire in Russia’s relentless war of aggression. Vladimir Putin has stepped up the nightly bombardment of Ukraine in defiance of Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal, and rejected any presence of European forces on the ground.

The Russian defence ministry said it had no intention to engage any targets on Polish territory. But the incursion by 19 drones, several of which were shot down, looks like a deliberate test of the west’s political will to step up support for Kyiv at a time when European allies are unsure how far they can rely on US backing, given Trump’s erratic leadership. It may also have been intended to strike fear into European populations, fuelling anti-war sentiment fanned by populist parties.

Several European Nato allies were involved in helping the Polish air force intercept the drone intrusion, including an Italian radar plane, Dutch fighter aircraft and German Patriot missiles, according to Nato.

This was not the first violation of Nato airspace since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but it was by far the largest. It also........

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