Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk is a Polish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland since 2023. He previously held the office from 2007 to 2014, led the Civic Platform party, and served as President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
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Danish intelligence warns of growing risk of limited Russian attack on NATO eastern flank
Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service published a threat assessment on September 24 warning that Russia is likely to intensify hybrid operations against Western countries and NATO in the coming months, including a "small but growing" risk of a limited military attack on a NATO country bordering Russia. The Danish Civil Security Agency subsequently raised its cyber threat level, and Denmark reaffirmed its continued support for Ukraine.
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Poland scrambles jets twice and evacuates border crossings as Russia strikes near Ukrainian border
On 24 September Poland scrambled military aircraft twice and placed ground-based air-defence systems on alert in response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian regions. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two border crossings with Ukraine, Hrubieszów and Dorohusk, had to be evacuated during a Russian attack near the border. The crossings were closed for about half an hour, with vehicle traffic returning to normal from 12:00. The same night Russia hit Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least two people and injuring eight.
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Ukrainian citizen attacks Benedictine monastery in Poland, killing at least one priest
A 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen carried out a knife attack on the morning of 24 September at a Benedictine sisters' monastery in Jarosław, in southeastern Poland, killing at least one priest and injuring five other people. The attacker was detained at the scene. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk both responded, with Zelensky calling it a "horrible crime" and Tusk pledging full enforcement of Polish law.
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Poland scrambles jets, suspends airports amid Russian strikes on Ukraine
On the morning of 23 September, Poland scrambled military aircraft and placed air-defence systems on heightened readiness in response to a Russian air attack on Ukraine. Operations at Lublin and Rzeszów airports were temporarily suspended, and border crossings with Ukraine were put on alert.
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Poland's defense minister postpones Pentagon visit at US request; deputies travel to Washington instead
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz's September 23 visit to the Pentagon has been postponed at the request of the US side. No new date has been announced. Polish Deputy Defense Ministers Magdalena Sobkowiak and Paweł Zalewski will travel to Washington in his stead to hold talks and prepare new US-Poland cooperation agreements. Poland's Ministry of Defense said the rescheduling followed signals from Washington and a NATO chiefs-of-staff meeting that required urgent new security measures for Alliance countries.
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Polish defence minister says Ukraine's air defence is Poland's own security interest
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Sejm on 18 September that Poland's security depends on Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones, and accused parts of the opposition of rhetoric that serves Russian interests. The same day Prime Minister Donald Tusk was in Ukraine for the Carpathian Integration Initiative summit and said NATO, Ukrainian and Polish intelligence expect Russia to intensify attacks on Ukraine and its partners in the coming months.
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NATO's top general says Alliance ready for possible Russian escalation on eastern flank
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, said on 19 September in Copenhagen that NATO is prepared to respond to a possible Russian escalation on the Alliance's eastern flank. His remarks came at a meeting of NATO's 32 top military chiefs, against a backdrop of warnings from several European countries about Russian hybrid threats and a recent spike in airspace violations and sabotage attempts.
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Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada cancels September 18 plenary session; opposition MPs complain of lack of notice
The Verkhovna Rada abruptly cancelled its September 18 plenary session and Hour of Questions to the Government, with MPs and ministers learning of the cancellation upon arriving at parliament. Opposition lawmakers from European Solidarity and Holos publicly criticized the last-minute, poorly communicated decision. The Hour of Questions has been rescheduled to October 12.
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Russian strike drone falls near Polish border; Poland scrambles jets, shuts airports
On 17 September 2026, a Russian strike drone fell or was destroyed approximately 4 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border on Ukrainian territory in Volyn Oblast, near the Dorohusk–Yahodyn crossing. Poland scrambled fighter jets, put air-defence and radar systems on alert, and temporarily suspended operations at Lublin and Rzeszów airports. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the drone likely hit a petrol station, and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced increased F-16 and helicopter activity in response.
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US indicts five alleged Russian intelligence operatives for murder-for-hire and sabotage plots targeting Ukraine's allies
The US Department of Justice has charged five people it says are linked to Russian intelligence services with conspiracy to finance terrorism and, in three cases, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege the network recruited US-based individuals to surveil and kill Russian opposition figures in Washington and Lithuania, and coordinated sabotage attacks in European countries that support Ukraine. All five defendants remain at large; the Kremlin has rejected the allegations.
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Russian drone strikes passenger train near Ukrainian-Polish border; diplomatic train with European officials had just left
On the morning of 13 September 2026, a Russian jet-powered mesh drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv-to-Warsaw passenger train at the Yahodyn station, about two kilometres from the Polish border in Volyn Oblast. A diplomatic train carrying former European leaders and current security advisors, returning from the YES conference in Kyiv, had departed the station shortly before the strike. No one was injured. Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) suggested the diplomatic train may have been the intended target; the Institute for the Study of War assessed the strike was meant to wound or kill European officials leaving Ukraine.
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Russian drones strike Kyiv-Warsaw train and infrastructure near Polish border, prompting Polish emergency meeting
On the morning of September 13, 2026, Russian drones struck infrastructure near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk international border crossing on the Ukraine-Poland border in Volyn Oblast, damaging a gas station, hitting a truck on the Polish side, and striking the locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train about two kilometers from the Polish border. Poland scrambled fighter jets, issued air alerts in Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting at the Government Centre for Security, warning that Russian escalation could reach Polish territory in the coming weeks. No passengers or railway workers were injured in the locomotive strike after a Ukrzaliznytsia monitoring group warned the crew in advance and gave an evacuation signal roughly 15 minutes before impact.
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Trump urges Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, blames them for global shortage
On 13 September 2026, visiting his Doonbeg golf club during the Irish Open in County Clare, Ireland, US President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel fuel infrastructure, saying those attacks are causing a global diesel shortage. Trump said the deficit stems from the Russia–Ukraine war and not from US actions in the Middle East, and noted he had already discussed the issue with Zelensky. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly disagreed, and a senior European official briefed on US-mediated talks called the reasoning "absurd."
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Poland will not block opening of EU accession clusters for Ukraine, Sikorski says
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at a joint briefing in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha that Poland will not block the opening of new EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine. He framed Ukraine's path as analogous to Poland's own accession experience and linked Ukrainian security to Poland's, warning that "Russian terrorism has already entered Europe."
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Croatia postpones extradition hearing for Ukrainian in Nord Stream case after Germany adds "war crime" charge
A Croatian court postponed a 4 September hearing on the extradition of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlov to Germany in the Nord Stream sabotage case. The postponement came after German prosecutors updated the European arrest warrant to add a "war crime" qualification to the existing charges. Zhuravlov's defense team, law firm Katerynchuk, Moor and Partners, said the change opens a new stage in fighting for his rights.
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Danish intelligence warns of concrete Russian sabotage planning targeting defense firms linked to Ukraine aid
Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service (PET) publicly warned that Russian intelligence services are conducting concrete planning of sabotage operations against Danish defense-industry companies, particularly those linked to military aid to Ukraine. PET head of counterintelligence Emil Græsholm said Russian services are also recruiting ordinary Danish citizens through social media and gaming platforms to carry out preparatory tasks, sometimes without the recruits knowing they are working for Moscow.
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Germany to boost Ukraine military aid after blaming Russia for Leipzig airport drone attack
On 1 September Germany formally blamed Russia for a series of drone incidents at Leipzig/Halle airport in August and announced a package of response measures. Berlin plans to supply Ukraine with thousands of strike drones and Iris-T air-defence missiles in September, deepen intelligence cooperation, and push for tougher EU sanctions. Germany also decided to close Russia's consulate in Bonn and terminate the lease of the "Russian House" in Berlin. The AfD in the Bundestag called for investigating a possible "Ukrainian trace," putting it at odds with the government's position.
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European states summon Russian diplomats over alleged drone sabotage at Leipzig airport
Germany accused Russia of attempting sabotage involving an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig airport roughly a month earlier and announced it would close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the "Russian House" in Berlin. In response, at least eight European states and the EU summoned Russian diplomatic representatives, with Poland describing the incident as state terrorism.
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Tusk calls fire at Polish drone plant supplying Ukraine's army deliberate sabotage
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on 2 September that a fire at the Grupa WB (WB Electronics) drone factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna, which supplies unmanned systems to the Polish and Ukrainian armed forces, was a deliberate act of arson and sabotage. A separate fire at a JFG Composites aviation-components facility in Lublin remains under investigation, with Tusk saying arson has not been proven but cannot be ruled out. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has opened a terrorism-related investigation into the Grupa WB blaze, and Tusk warned of intensified Russian efforts to destabilise Central and Eastern Europe.