Key events
‘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
Jakub Krupa
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.
