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By Brendan Cole and Shane Croucher
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country would formally request the invocation of NATO's Article 4 in response to the violation of his country's airspace by 19 Russian drones, some of which were shot down.
NATO's Article 4 states: "The parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."
Tusk's comments follow Poland's response to a Russian bombardment of Ukraine in which drones launched by Moscow breached the NATO member's airspace.
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Newsweek has contacted NATO and the Polish Foreign Ministry for comment.
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Why It Matters
Unlike Article 5's collective defense element, NATO's Article 4 does not trigger military action, but initiates a formal alliance discussion when one member considers its territorial integrity or security is threatened.
Poland's call for Article 4 shows Warsaw's concern at the breach of its airspace which has sparked alarm among Kyiv's allies over whether Moscow was deliberately testing NATO's resolve.
What To Know
Poland said it downed Russian drones in its airspace during a mass aerial attack on Ukraine early Wednesday and that aircraft were deployed in response, including from the Netherlands.
Col. Martin L. O'Donnell, spokesperson for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe said that this was the first time NATO aircraft had engaged potential threats in allied airspace.
He said that German Patriots in Poland were placed on alert and that an Italian airborne early warning aircraft and an aerial refueler from NATO's Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet were also launched.
Tusk said Warsaw had requested the activation of Article 4 of NATO's treaty which allows member states to request consultations with allies over security threats without triggering a military response.
The article acts as an early warning system and does not mean there is direct pressure on members to act militarily but does allow a meeting in which security concerns and how to combat them are discussed.
Since NATO was founded in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked only a handful of times—most recently by Eastern European members Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
By contrast, Article 5 stipulates an attack on one ally is considered as an attack against all allies. It sets in motion the possibility of collective self-defense although it does not automatically result in military action, rather commits members to "assist the party or parties so attacked."
Lieutenant Commander Artur Bilski, a former NATO officer, told Polish outlet Radio ZET that Russia's breach of airspace Wednesday meant that "we absolutely should apply Article 4. of the North Atlantic Treaty."
"So far, we have had incidents, but here we have a large scale and deliberate action," he said, according to a translation.
During these consultations, a decision could be made to apply NATO's Article 5 for a collective response but that decision must be made unanimously and right now, it was far too early to talk about such a scenario, he added.
Geopolitical analyst Pekka Kallioniemi, creator of the Vatnik Soup project analyzing Russian disinformation, told Newsweek that discussions after Poland triggered Article 4 will be interesting as will whether this leads only to strongly worded letters and condemnations or to actual, concrete decisions.
"NATO showed strong cohesion in its response, but with [President Donald] Trump back in power, the alliance is at its weakest point in decades, and Russia will almost certainly keep probing," he said.
What People Are Saying
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in an address to the Polish Sejm, the lower chamber of the country's parliament: "Allied consultations have now taken the form of a formal request to activate Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty."
Tusk said the decision was preceded by consultations with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, adding that this is "just the beginning."
Lieutenant Commander Artur Bilski told Polish media: "We absolutely should apply Article 4. of the North Atlantic Treaty...so far, we have had incidents, but here we have a large scale and deliberate action."
Geopolitical analyst Pekka Kallioniemi told Newsweek: "The most interesting outcome will be the discussions after Poland triggered Article 4, and whether this leads only to strongly worded letters and condemnations or to actual, concrete decisions."
What Happens Next
As of Wednesday morning, Russia had not responded to Poland's statement.
The invocation of Article 4 would mean that NATO's main political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, would convene and all member states would assess the threat and agree a response.
This could result in increased surveillance and additional troop deployments, joint exercises and coordination with the EU and the U.N. if necessary.
Update 9/10/25, 7:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.
Update 9/10/25, 9:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Pekka Kallioniemi.
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