Poland foreign minister in Kyiv for security talks after drone raid

Poland’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Friday for talks on security, days after a drone raid into Poland escalated concerns over the spillover of Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha shared an image showing him meeting his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski, at a train station in Kyiv.

“Against the backdrop of Russia’s escalation of terror against Ukraine and provocations against Poland, we stand firmly together,” Sybiha wrote on social media.

“We will hold substantial talks today about our shared security, Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession, and pressure on Moscow.”

The visit comes as Russia and its key ally Belarus, both of which border Poland, began major joint military drills early Friday.

Poland and its NATO allies scrambled jets and shot down at least three of more than a dozen Russian drones flying across its airspace early Wednesday.

Russian drones have been detected in NATO countries’ airspace several times since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, but this was the first time any alliance member had shot them down.

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

“On the night that 19 Russian drones crossed into Poland, 400 drones and 40 missiles flew over Ukraine. These were not mistakes,” Sikorski said in a social media post.

British foreign minister Yvette Cooper also arrived in Ukraine on Friday, the foreign office said, and is scheduled to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The visits came as officials in the northeastern region of Sumy announced two people were killed and five were wounded in Russian bombardments in the early hours of Friday.

(cp)