NATO chief says Russian violation of Polish airspace is 'absolutely reckless'

NATO issued a stark warning to Vladimir Putin today after Russian drones violated Polish airspace overnight, forcing a multinational response. Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the military alliance, told Putin to 'stop violating allied airspace, and know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory' following emergency discussions. He said that a full assessment was 'ongoing', adding that regardless of whether the incursion was intentional, 'it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous'. Rutte said that NATO had shown it was able to defend its territory and airspace having scrambled fighter jets and employing Italian surveillance aircraft after patriot defence systems detected drones on their radars. Russian drones and missiles have entered NATO airspace several times during Russia 's war in Ukraine, but a NATO country has never tried to shoot them down.