NATO allies convened urgent consultations on September 10 under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty following the incursion of multiple Russian drones into Polish airspace, with several shot down by Polish and Dutch fighter jets. The talks, held at NATO headquarters during a North Atlantic Council meeting, were prompted by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who labeled the incident a “large-scale provocation” occurring three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began.

Article 4, the shortest of NATO’s 14 treaty articles, allows member states to request consultations when their territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened. Bob Deen, an analyst at the Clingendael think tank, explained that it “promotes better coordination and understanding within the alliance on external threats,” enabling urgent agenda-setting. Poland previously invoked Article 4 in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and in 2022 alongside seven other allies following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

While Article 4 facilitates dialogue, it does not automatically trigger Article 5, NATO’s collective defense clause, which has been invoked only once post-9/11. Deen noted that Article 4 is “not necessarily a stepping stone” to Article 5, with Turkey invoking it five times between 2003 and 2020 without escalation.

The incident, involving 19 drones—some entering from Belarus—marks the first time a NATO member has fired on Russian aerial assets in the ongoing conflict, raising concerns but not yet signaling a broader military response.

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