MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin on Wednesday declined to comment on Poland’s statement that it had shot down Russian drones in Polish airspace, saying this was a matter for the defence ministry.
Poland shot down drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was a large-scale provocation, and “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two”, although he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.
Asked about the drones and Tusk’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “In this case, we would not like to comment on it in any way. This is not our responsibility – it is the prerogative of the defence ministry.”
Peskov said that the Kremlin had not received any requests for contact from Poland, but dismissed European Union and NATO accusations that Russia had carried out a provocation.
“The leadership of the EU and NATO accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis. Most of the time, without even trying to present at least some kind of argument,” Peskov said.
The defence ministry has so far not commented on the drone incident in Poland.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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