BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday condemned Russia for violating Poland's airspace with armed drones and stressed that NATO stands ready to defend allied territory.

“This reckless action is part of a long series of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and on the eastern flank of NATO,” Merz said in a statement. “The German government condemns this aggressive Russian behavior in the strongest possible terms.”

The conservative leader said NATO allies and Poland have successfully responded to this aggressive action, as allied forces were able to recognize and neutralize this threat in a timely manner.

"At Poland's request, the NATO Council discussed the Russian action today under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. NATO is and remains ready to defend its territory," Merz said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country’s airspace was violated by Russian drones overnight, adding that several were downed by NATO and Polish forces. Tusk said authorities initially recorded 19 airspace violations.

The Russian Defense Ministry, however, denied any intention to strike Polish targets during its Tuesday night attacks on Ukraine. In a statement, the ministry expressed willingness to discuss the incident with Polish officials. It acknowledged conducting a massive strike against Ukraine's military-industrial facilities in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Zhytomyr regions, as well as in Vinnytsia and Lviv.