A POLISH couple whose home was destroyed by a Russian drone have been pictured.
Pensioners Tomasz and Alicja Wesolowska were only just getting up for the day in their Wyryki-Wola home when Russian drones began raining down around them.
ReutersAlicja and Tomasz Wesolowski sitting outside their now ruined home after being home when drones flew through their top storey[/caption]
AFPPolice outside the Wyryki home, which was destroyed by Russian drones violating Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine[/caption]
AFPThe Wesolowski home has been left without a roof after Russian drones blew through it on Wednesday morning[/caption]
Map shows the drones going past the Ukrainian border and entering Polish airspace
A drone smashed through a top floor window of the two-storey brick house in eastern Poland at 6.30am on Wednesday morning.
Tomasz had been downstairs watching the latest news update on the incursion at that time.
After the drones left the roof destroyed and debris strewn across their bedroom, Tomasz and Alicja are lucky to be alive.
As a result of the early morning assault, more British troops could be deployed to Poland.
NATO vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land after Russia’s “deliberate” drone incursion.
Kremlin drones invaded Polish airspace overnight, forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4 – one below the threshold of war.
Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK today vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s “test”.
Defence Secretary John Healey called the escalation “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented”, following a meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy alongside the Polish defence minister.
“Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland,” he said.
Some 300 British troops are already in Poland, with Healey vowing to “do what we can”.
That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.
Healey added: “Russia’s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented. We see what Putin is doing”.
“Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.”
Sir Keir Starmer called the attack an “egregious and unprecedented violation” of NATO airspace.
He said it was proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.
He added that he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk, saying: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”
Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.
One of the drones said to have crashed down in Poland overnight
EPAPolish emergency services are investigating the crash site[/caption]
He said four were shot down by NATO fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.
This is the first time since the outbreak of war that Nato has directly clashed with Russia, though jets have been scrambled many times without engaging.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for decisive action from allies, Zelensky said: “[It is an] extremely dangerous precedent for Europe.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States.”
Nato has since said the drone strike “is not being treated as a Russian attack”, but it is the first time a live aircraft has directly made threats in Allied airspace.
This is the first time since the outbreak of war that Nato has directly clashed with Russia, though jets have been scrambled many times without engaging.
Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.
Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said the Security Council met this morning to discuss Poland’s request for Article 4.
He said: “Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory.”