Article 4 of the treaty mandates consultation among member nations whenever one believes its territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
Warsaw requested the alliance invoke the provision following the “unprecedented” violation of its airspace amid a large-scale Russian attack on western Ukraine.
Polish and NATO jets were scrambled and at least 4 of the 19 drones were shot down.
The incursion marked a significant escalation by Moscow, as it is the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a NATO member state.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka told private broadcaster Polsat News that NATO had activated Article 4 at Poland’s request.
Poland previously requested Article 4 in 2014 after Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and again in 2022 following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
