EditNATO bureaucracy made surprising discovery on 10 September
The strongest alliance in history is apparently too fragile to handle a drone with a lawnmower engine
The “coalition of the willing” has become the coalition of the waiting — waiting for someone else to act, waiting for someone else to risk political capital, waiting until it is too late, writes Sed Tkachuk.
Volodymyr (Sed) Tkachuk is a communications specialist and free-lance journalist, signing Sed Tkachuk.
“We are closely monitoring the situation. At this stage, there is no indication that the incident was a deliberate attack on Poland” — NATO spokesperson.
“I don’t want to comment on drones over Poland, I’m focused on my trip to London” — Donald Trump.
“This is not an Article 5 situation” — EU official speaking anonymously.
Few people realise that a Shahed-type drone is 3.5 meters long with a wingspan of 2.5 meters. That’s the crushing reality millions in eastern Poland faced as a dozen of said drones crossed the Ukraine’s western border on 10 September.
The response was swift — Dutch F-35s, Polish F-16s were scrambled and German Patriot systems were engaged in deterring the attack. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the performance of air defences, describing it as the “successful… defence of NATO territory.” A NATO refuelling aircraft, an Italian surveillance plane and French interceptors were also reportedly involved in the operation.
It was only on 10 September that NATO’s bureaucracy discovered allied aircraft were permitted to shoot down Shaheds only when directly attacked, but not when those drones targeted Poland. And only three days later did the President of Poland sign a decree inviting Alliance troops to do so. The question now is whether that decree alters NATO’s regulations.
Russian drones in Poland are not the main event of the day — they are the beginning of a long existential confrontation between Europe, NATO, and the new horde.
In the following days a matter of invoking Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was buzzing in the press. No such request was filed with alliance’s authorities, despite there being clear indicators — “An attack against one is an attack against all.”
Information will surface that Poland’s Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, subsequently a hub for international arms shipments to Ukraine, was the main target of the organised attack, as well as a NATO base.
Such a brazen violation of international law was met with a swift action — the action of sweeping things under the rug.
Three drones were shot down with AIM-9 Sidewinders — $400,000 a shot. Russia’s Geran knockoffs? About $10,000 apiece. The alliance spent champagne money swatting soda cans.
NATO bagged three drones. Kyiv, under nightly swarms, intercepts 80–90% of hundreds — without the fanfare.
Rutte himself concluded that using F-35s to intercept the invaders is unfeasible, and no one disagreed.
NATO never misses a chance to remind the world that it is “the strongest alliance in history.” But when history actually knocks, NATO responds like a nervous landlord too timid to confront noisy neighbours.
The strongest alliance in history is apparently too fragile to handle a drone with a lawnmower engine. Its readiness drills consist mostly of practicing how to avoid eye contact.
Silence is now a political strategy. While Ukraine continues absorbing daily bombardment, Western media turns its lens elsewhere. Ukraine is treated like yesterday’s trending topic.
The “coalition of the willing” has become the coalition of the waiting — waiting for someone else to act, waiting for someone else to risk political capital, waiting until it is too late.
And as ever, the alliance’s famous “red lines” made their ritual appearance. If NATO’s red line were a border, it would be drawn in pencil — and erased before the ink on the communiqué dries.
Meanwhile, across the Channel, Donald Trump staged his own traveling circus in London. He refused to comment on Poland’s little drone problem, focusing instead on photo-ops and royal pageantry. For a man who insists he alone can save the West, he looked less like a statesman and more like peanut farmer hoping the monarchy rubs off.
The irony writes itself. If Article 5 ever comes, Trump will ask whether it can be monetised before answering.
Caption: A man carries a large mock-up missile as people gather in support of Ukraine following Russian drone violations of Polish airspace in recent days, in Prague, Czech Republic, 13 September 2025. EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Updated: September 18, 2025 - 07:28
