Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday, September 17, 2026, that Russia is planning hybrid strikes using drones or missiles against NATO member states that support Ukraine. Tusk, speaking to the Polish parliament, stated that Russia intends to characterize these potential attacks as accidental to avoid triggering a collective defense response from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a 32-nation military alliance.
The warning followed a day of increased military activity, including what Tusk described as a massive Russian attack on western Ukraine near the Polish border. Polish military forces scrambled aircraft multiple times during the barrage. While Tusk confirmed that Polish airspace was not breached during these specific maneuvers, he cited intelligence from NATO, Ukrainian, and U.S. agencies, including the CIA, as the basis for his assessment of future threats.
Russian forces conducted several daylight strikes on Thursday across Ukraine, including an attack on an industrial park near Korosten that killed one person. In Odesa, Russian drones struck a logistics hub and a cargo vessel, which the Russian Defense Ministry claimed were used for military purposes. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed a Ukrainian drone strike on an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia.
The scale of the reported threat involves frequent and intense strikes. Tusk stated that intelligence suggests high-frequency attacks are expected against six major Ukrainian cities. Additionally, he noted that four incidents involving Russian strikes on border crossings occurred at the Polish-Ukrainian border within the last week, with several others reported on the border with Moldova. The disruption of these crossings could impact the delivery of energy infrastructure and economic aid, which Tusk noted would be "tragically critical" for Ukrainian households as winter approaches.
A person living in these regions would notice increased military readiness, such as the scrambling of Polish aircraft, and potential disruptions to cross-border logistics. For Ukrainians, this translates to the potential loss of heating and electricity if energy infrastructure is destroyed. The "Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act," which recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, represents a policy step aimed at curbing military actions through economic restrictions. Prime Minister Tusk scheduled a trip to Kyiv overnight to Friday, September 18, 2026, to discuss drone defense and further sanctions with President Zelensky.