This is the case both politically and militarily, Tsahkna went on, telling "Välisilm" that the imminent 19th sanctions package on Russia will be stronger than its predecessors, adding the imposition of customs duties is also under discussion.

Was this incident in Poland accidental or was it a hybrid attack?

Certainly nothing was accidental. Russia did not launch those drones into the air by accident, and this was not some single random drone that somehow strayed into NATO territory; it was 19 drones – meaning nothing happened accidentally here. Russia is an aggressive country, it has been attacking Ukraine and now very clearly has also tested NATO.

Was this an attack against Poland?

Absolutely, it was done as a strike. Poland's foreign minister very clearly stated that the engagements lasted seven hours. Whether Russia's intent was to attack Poland and hit any target is still under investigation, but the fact is that Russia, as an aggressive state, sent 19 drones into NATO territory, and NATO responded wholly adequately.

Is Eastern Sentry, now activated, an adequate response from NATO's side?

This is a fully adequate response. For the first time in NATO history also, a NATO joint operation was carried out to defend our territories in the air, and drones were downed. Turkey had previously shot down a Russian fighter jet, but that was first and foremost Turkey's unilateral reaction, not a NATO operation, and the fact that NATO within two days managed to announce this eastern flank mission and is now actually putting it into action demonstrates that NATO is completely adequate in responding as an organization. Politicians have stated in their speeches that every inch of NATO territory will be defended, and yet then Russian drones still end up on that territory.

They entered NATO territory, they will also enter in the future, but the important thing is that we are able to respond militarily and politically. For the eighth time in all of NATO's history, Article 4 was also invoked, which means consultations among allies, and even the UN Security Council actually discussed it. At the political level, the reactions were also quick, very clear, and NATO has acted accordingly.

U.S. president Donald Trump wrote on social media: "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!", which according to Reuters, meant that the head of state and the U.S. government basically shrugged their shoulders. Why did America respond so softly to this incident?

If we look at the fact that consultations under Article 4 went ahead and that the position of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is also held by an American general, then the U.S. as a NATO member state has not stayed far from this matter militarily or politically. As for Trump commenting on this situation with one word or another, it is obvious that he does not like the situation, as he has still been hoping that Putin would start some kind of peace negotiations or at least say something on the topic of a ceasefire. But let's be honest, the entire world's public – especially after the attack on Poland, but also a few days earlier when in the middle of the day 20 elderly people waiting in line for pensions were killed – understands that Putin does not want any sort of peace. This means that in Europe there is almost no head of state who needs convincing that Russia must continue to be pressured, and America too is facing an increasingly difficult situation.

Why has the U.S. not imposed additional sanctions? In the EU, the 19th sanctions package is being discussed, to end the consumption of Russian oil and gas in Europe.

We are discussing the 19th sanctions package, which this time will be quite strong. Work on that is ongoing. The previous i.e. 18th package we adopted only a few months ago, and under Estonia's leadership this also included a mechanism on oil prices toward third countries. The EU is currently discussing the imposition of tariffs. As usual, it is very difficult to find consensus among the 27 member states, but I find that Europe has also taken quite strong steps. For example, the Alaska meeting between Trump and Putin rather united Europe, and not only the EU, but also the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland etc.

Did this also unite America and Europe, for example? Ursula von der Leyen in her speech said that the sight of the Alaska meeting was quite uncomfortable.

The picture of the Alaska summit was quite uncomfortable, because Putin was brought out of isolation and not only in the eyes of the U.S. as meeting with the world's most powerful president, but also the week before last when China, India, North Korea and several others gathered. Putin strides around half the world like a righteous man, and certainly that is not comfortable viewing.

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