Poland warns of Russian provocations at Ukraine-EU border crossings

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said recent border incidents near Ukraine point to possible Russian provocations. He said a CIA briefing suggests Europe must prepare for escalating threats on the EU's eastern flank.

In Short

• Two people died after drones struck Starokozache crossing on Ukraine-Moldova border
• Tusk said another crossing threat was averted through Warsaw-Kyiv cooperation
• Moldova has closed or suspended crossings after repeated nearby Russian strikes

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said two incidents along Ukraine's borders with Poland and Moldova this week could be a sign of intensified Russian provocations at Ukraine's border crossing points with Europe. Speaking in Bratislava on Thursday, he said Poland and Europe should prepare for possible threats in the coming months.

Tusk said two people were killed when Russian drones hit the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday night. He also said a "direct threat" to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing point on Wednesday night was avoided only because of cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv. He did not give further details of that incident or present evidence of Russian involvement.

Tusk said he had received a briefing on Thursday from CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe, who was recently in Moscow, on the risks posed by Russia in the region in the coming months. "Russia already decided to engage in provocative attacks on border crossing points, for example in Moldova," he said during a meeting of central European countries and Ireland. "We expect similar actions regarding border crossings with Ukraine in other countries as well, including Poland." He added that the briefing indicated Poland and Europe should be prepared for "various scenarios" on the Russian-Ukrainian front and in countries on the European Union's eastern flank.

Ukraine shares borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova, apart from Russia and its ally Belarus. In recent weeks, Moldova, a former Soviet republic that has been a candidate for European Union membership since 2022, has faced several incidents near its southern border crossings with Ukraine.

On August 20, an explosion in a parking area on Ukrainian territory, about 150 metres from Moldova's southern Giurgiulesti border crossing, caused a vegetation fire that spread about 100 square metres into Moldovan territory. The same day, border police found a crater on Moldovan territory about 1 kilometre from the border and recovered debris from a type of drone used by Russia in Ukraine.

A day later, Moldova's Mirnoe border crossing was temporarily closed after Russian strikes nearby in Ukraine. On August 25, Moldova also suspended activity at its Vulcanesti border crossing after an Iranian-made Shahed drone hit the Ukrainian side. Moldova's border police urged citizens "who hear drone noises or explosions" to remain calm and take shelter.

After the Starokozache incident on Tuesday night, Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu condemned Russia and said Moscow's "brutal war is reaching our border". In a Facebook post, she said: "To deny the danger while Russian drones and missiles sow death and put Moldova in danger, and to criticise your country's efforts to strengthen its defence system, is to choose betrayal over the safety of your own people."

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a border crossing with NATO member Romania, in eastern Ukraine along the Danube River, was "deliberately damaged, ... as well as export infrastructure". Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's river ports during the war. Romania has also reported an almost threefold rise in drone incursions so far this year compared with the whole of 2025, and more than double the number of drones and drone debris found on its territory.

Tusk has for weeks warned that Russia could carry out a limited military action or a more serious hybrid provocation against Poland or the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the near future. "In the last few hours, I received a fairly detailed report directly from the CIA director regarding possible incidents in the coming months-and this is exactly what I've been saying and warning about for many months now," he said in Bratislava.

In late August, Ratcliffe visited Moscow and held talks with his Russian intelligence counterparts, with Polish politicians speculating that a possible Russian threat to NATO may have been among the topics discussed. On Tuesday, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland's minister responsible for intelligence services, met Ratcliffe at CIA headquarters in Virginia to discuss Poland's security and cooperation with the United States.

On Thursday and Friday, an American delegation including William Cappelletti Jr. from the Department of Defence and Thomas DiNanno from the Department of State is visiting Poland to inspect possible locations for a permanent US military base. Poland has long sought such a base as a security guarantee in the face of what it sees as a growing Russian threat. Tusk's remarks in Bratislava came as Poland pointed to recent border incidents in Moldova and Ukraine, a CIA warning on possible developments in the coming months, and continuing efforts to strengthen its security ties with the United States.

With PTI Inputs

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