I know that Tumblr doesn't care about Eastern Europe, but there has been a new, very concerning act of Russian aggression, this time on Poland.
Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, multiple Russian drones entered the Polish airspace. Most of them were shot down in Eastern Poland, however two made their way far into the country. So far, no more drones entered the airspace.
The red dots are drones, the black one is the place they found remains of a projectile of an unknown origin.
Russia of course lies and claims that there is no proof that the drones are Russian, so they take no blame.
If you know anything about the history of relations between Poland and Russia, you know that Russia has been the greatest enemy and oppressor of Poland for literal centuries (they were mostly responsible for the Partitions of Poland, which led to Poland losing independence for 123 years. Yes, 123 years of occupation.) Russia has put claims on Polish land forever, which was a huge reason behind the Soviet Union invading Poland in 1939 and then refusing to leave, effectively starting another period of occupation that ended in 1989.
What happened now is another sign of Russia's intentions. They don't want to stop at Ukraine - they want the whole Eastern Europe. And they don't make little "mistakes" like that. The drones were likely a test to see if the West gives a fuck about what they do here, if there will be any attention and reaction. After all, the West has failed Poland in 1939 - they promised military assistance but never delivered it while knowing that Poland was not strong enough to fight against both the Third Reich and Soviet Union. Now Russia hopes for the history to repeat itself.
And the problem is that it's not looking very good for Poland. After the years of the West still trying to trade and get along with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine, it's hard to actually believe that in case of invasion of Poland, there would be any help. What Westerners don't seem to understand is that there is no trading with Russia - they will never be satisfied. If you think that you can trade Ukraine, Poland and other Eastern European countries for safety for the West, you're an idiot. Russia won't stop.
Anyway. There isn't much more to say right now. I hope that it's only a one-time incident, and I don't want to fearmonger. But considering Russia's recent refusals to leave Ukraine in peace, the future of the whole Eastern Europe is looking bleak.
Please, don't stop talking about Ukraine and keep your eyes on Eastern Europe. What is happening here is not less important than other conflicts around the world, so please, just remember about us.
EDIT because I'm muting this post:
I FUCKING KNOW POLAND IS IN NATO AND EU FOR FUCK'S SAKE. And it SHOULD mean that in case of an invasion, it would receive help. It SHOULD. But in real life, war isn't about what *should* be, it's about what *is*. If all countries respected all the conventions and papers their governments sign, we'd have no wars at all lol. What will happen is not always what should, and in the past Poland has been failed by those beautiful yet empty deals.
Also - great thanks to the Dutch and Italian pilots who helped with neutralizing the drones. Their did their job well and I appreciate that. But one action during a very unclear situation is not the same as a full military support in case of invasion. I hope there is never any need for that
