Warsaw (AFP) - The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Friday to discuss violations of Poland’s airspace after Warsaw accused Moscow of launching a drone raid on its territory.

Poland branded the incident, which prompted forces to shoot down several drones overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, a deliberate “unprecedented” attack on the country, NATO and the European Union.

Moscow denied targeting the country and said there was no evidence the drones were Russian.

But Poland’s European partners backed Warsaw. The Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Sweden each summoned their Russian ambassadors on Thursday to protest.

Germany announced Thursday it would expand its role in a NATO mission to defend Polish airspace.

Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members including Poland several times since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but no NATO country had yet attempted to shoot them down.

Polish officials said drones violated its airspace 19 times, but there were no casualties and the damage was limited – a house and a car were destroyed.

The incident was “an attempt to test the mechanism of action within NATO and our readiness to respond”, Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Thursday during a visit to an airbase in western Poland.

Poland’s National Security Council met Thursday and the defence minister was set to brief parliament on the latest findings.

Warsaw said there would be a UN Security Council meeting to discuss “the violation of Polish airspace by Russia”.

Shortly afterwards, the Council’s South Korean presidency announced in New York that it would take place on Friday at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT).

- ‘Reckless’: NATO -

Poland boosted its security Thursday, closing air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine to civilian flights up to an altitude of three kilometres (1.9 miles) until December 9.

The PAZP air traffic control agency announced that drones would also be banned.

The country had already announced ramped-up measures on the Belarus border to cope with military drills the country is carrying out with its ally Russia between September 12 and 16.

The few open border crossings with Belarus were to be closed from Friday over the Zapad (“West”) drills.

Reacting to the closure, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement urged Poland “to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible”.

Germany said Thursday it would “extend and expand” its participation in NATO’s Air Policing programme, to provide more cover to Polish airspace.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Wednesday that the drone raid marked an unprecedented escalation of tension with Russia.

Tusk called a NATO meeting on Wednesday, invoking Article 4 under which a member can convene urgent talks when it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” are at risk – only the eighth time the measure has been used.

A cornerstone of NATO is the principle that an attack on any member is deemed an attack on all.

NATO chief Mark Rutte denounced Moscow’s “reckless behaviour” and hailed his organisation’s response, telling journalists the alliance’s air defences had done their job.

- Unity ‘reaffirmed’ -

Both the European Union and Ukraine called it a test of the alliance’s resolve.

“Russia’s reckless violation of Polish airspace threatens our European security,” said Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel on X.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky wrote on X: “Russian drones in Poland are a pure provocation by the Kremlin.”

“The Russian violations are unacceptable and constitute a threat to Europe’s security,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing: “The Chinese side hopes that all parties concerned will properly resolve their disputes through dialogue and consultation.”

China has never denounced Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Poland is a major supporter of Ukraine and hosts more than one million Ukrainian refugees. It is also a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the country.