Polish Minister Sikorsky Defends Air Defense Performance, Cites Ukrainian Success Metrics
Warsaw, Poland - September 15, 2025 – Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that the performance of Polish air defense during a recent Russian drone incursion could be considered a success by Ukrainian standards, despite only intercepting three or four of the 19 drones that violated Polish airspace.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Sikorski rejected criticism of Poland’s air defense capabilities. ”The drones did not achieve their goals,insignificant damage to property was caused,no one was injured. If this happened in Ukraine by Ukrainian standards, this would be 100% success,” he saeid.
Sikorski suggested the drone incursion was a Kremlin tactic to test NATO’s response without triggering a full-scale conflict, noting the drones were “idle” and did not carry explosives. He emphasized that a more forceful response would have been warranted had the attack resulted in casualties. “With such an aggressor and a liar as putin, only the most rigid opposition works,” Sikorski stated.
Poland is now planning to train its forces alongside experienced ukrainian drone operators at a NATO training center within Poland. sikorski highlighted Ukraine’s expertise in countering Russian drones, asserting, “Ukrainians have the best equipment to combat Russian drones, and they have much deeper and most modern experience in confrontation between the Russian army. This is that the public and governments in the west should urgently integrate into their thinking… that it is indeed Ukrainians who will teach us how to confront Russia,and not vice versa.”
This move follows earlier reports of Polish military personnel traveling to Ukraine to learn drone defense techniques, with subsequent confirmation that cooperation would take place on Polish territory. On September 11, Polish Chief of the General Staff General Wiesław Kukuła and Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi discussed protocols for sharing data regarding air threats.
