President Trump attempted to give Vladimir Putin another pass after Russia sent drones deep into Polish territory.
The incident comes a week after Donald Trump met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the White House.
“It might have been a mistake,” he told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “It could have been a mistake, but also I’m not happy with anything regarding that situation.” NATO and Polish officials were not buying that excuse, however.
Trump has said a peace deal in Ukraine was one of his day one priorities to fix, but so far, the conflict rages with no public signs of progress.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded to Trump’s comments on X, saying that he “wishes” the attack was accidental. “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” he said.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski was more direct. “No, that wasn’t a mistake,” he said, also writing on X.
The attack came in the early hours of Wednesday. Three Russian drones were shot down as others crashed to the ground and were later found across the east of the country, a NATO member.
The alliance’s general secretary, Mark Rutte, sent a warning to Putin on Wednesday, hours after the drones breached NATO airspace.
“Our air defenses are continually at the ready,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels. “My message is clear: stop the war in Ukraine... stop violating allied airspace, and know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
The transatlantic alliance has since agreed to send troops, artillery, and air defence systems to secure Poland’s eastern flank.
Trump, too, addressed the attack on Wednesday, in his own style. “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones?” he asked in a short post on Truth Social. “Here we go!”
On Wednesday, Nawrocki confirmed on X that he had spoken to Trump about the matter. “Today’s talks confirmed allied unity,” he said.
Trump has a fractious and at times pally relationship with Vladimir Putin. In August, the Kremlin leader met Trump in Alaska.
The back-slapping summit seemed to suggest a united front and, perhaps, the beginning of the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
However, the bombs continued to fall. Russia pounded Ukraine with its biggest bombardment in weeks, wrecking energy infrastructure after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Putin further sidelined Trump when he met with North Korean despot Kim Jong un and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month for a celebration of the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” Trump snapped at Xi on Truth Social, sounding like a jilted pal.
The White House and representatives for Tusk have been contacted for comment.
