Ukraine Urges Slovakia Not to Pass Blame for Violation of Polish Airspace

Kiev, 11 September (TASR) - Ukraine, reacting to statements by Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), called on Slovakia on Thursday not to question Russia's responsibility for the violation of Polish airspace on Tuesday night, TASR has learnt from The Kyiv Independent website. "A large number of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace. This is an empirical fact that doesn't require belief," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi told a press conference. "Such a massive border violation by Russian drones couldn't have been accidental. It's a fully deliberate escalation on the part of Russia," said the spokesman, calling on Slovakia "not to shift Moscow's responsibility with unreasonable doubts, but to acknowledge the reality as it is". The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Blanar "wants to believe that the drones that penetrated Polish territory were drones that went there not to attack Poland, but were meant to end up on Ukrainian territory". Apart from this, Blanar also stated that Slovakia considers the violation of Polish airspace to be a serious deterioration and escalation of the situation and expressed solidarity with Slovakia's neighbour. According to Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), the incident was "serious" and could have "far-reaching consequences". Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) said he wanted to wait for comprehensive information in this regard. Warsaw confirmed the downing of Russian drones on Tuesday night. At least 19 drones flew into the airspace of a European Union (EU) and NATO-member state, of which three or four were shot down. Poland described the incident as an act of aggression and activated NATO Article 4. am/df