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In the early morning of September 10, a news unexpected to most people woke up the Polish people: the Polish Air Force, with the assistance of allies, shot down a batch of Russian drones that invaded its airspace.

Of the 19 drones that were attacking, four were shot down by NATO, while the rest went deep into the hinterland of Poland, reaching Gdansk, 450 kilometers northwest of the Ukraine-Belarus border.

At first, the reactions of all parties were still calm, and the political and media were waiting for official government briefings. But soon, a series of anxious questions emerged: What might Russia’s motivation be? Is Poland capable of resisting future attacks?

Severely divided leadership shows solidarity

The initial official response from the Polish government focused on "continuous communication" between the top leaders. Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized this on the morning of September 10.

After the attack, the newly elected President-elect Carol Nafroki, supported by the conservative opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), also echoed Tusk's statement, saying that he was "maintaining continuous communication" with the liberal government led by Tusk.

Polish political commentator was quick to point out that it was rare for the supreme leadership to show such a posture. Given the serious political polarization in Poland, this division is seen as a key internal problem, and once Russia continues to launch an attack, it could become a potential weakness in future responses.

Polish political commentator and diplomat Peter Skwiczsky said in an interview with the Kiev Independent that the general reaction of Polish political opponents was "better than expected." “It looks like all procedures have been started and taken into effect, including cooperation with NATO partners.”

Belsat.pl editor-in-chief Mihau Kacevic also expressed the same view in an interview with the Kiev Independent. However, follow-up decisions by the Prime Minister and the President on September 11 show that Polish top leaders seem to be back in the usual fierce political confrontation.

Defense capability triggers anxiety

Although initially responded to the sudden drone attack in Russia, politicians and commentators quickly began to think: How should Poland respond if similar or even more serious attacks occur in the future?

"Poland is in a state of war." said Marek Severchensky, head of security and international affairs at the well-known think tank "Polityka Insight", a well-known think tank associated with Politics Weekly.

Marek Buziz, an expert studying Russian hybrid war, pointed out that Ukraine has developed cheap and efficient anti-UAV systems in the past few years, but Poland has not yet deployed such practical solutions.

This leads to Warsaw's need to rely on foreign aid to dispatch fighters and launch air-to-air missiles to deal with a few low-cost Russian drones.

Shkevzynsky pointed out that most of the drones that invaded Polish airspace ended up in unknown ways - were they led to a safe area and crashed, or were the Allies simply failed to intercept it?

The Polish diplomat pointed out Poland's lack of cheap and efficient anti-UAV technology and concluded that "Poland has been sleeping" during more than three years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But the Polish government believes that this situation is not surprising. Foreign Ministry spokesman Paviu Warensky said in an interview with the Kiev Independent: "This is the first time Poland has been hit by a large-scale attack by Russian drones."

"We will draw on Ukraine's experience in dealing with Russian attacks, and will also develop our own capabilities in due course."

"This is an unprecedented and prestige operation," Kacevic retorted, "at this moment, the (Polish) military cannot consider the cost. Poland is not under continuous artillery fire (Russia), so all available means, including the best and most expensive technology available."

In addition to anti-drone technology, some other practical problems have also been exposed.

For example, some Polish scholars pointed out that the national alert system used to send emergency risk warning messages to the public failed to respond in a timely manner. The alarm was issued around 9 a.m. local time, and the Russian attack had already ended.

Earlier speculation also suggests that many Poles are still unclear how to identify the sirens of air strikes that predicted the enemy's invasion.

"This may sound strange, but in a sense it is a good thing that happens now," Skwickinsky told the Kiev Independent. "This incident is like a vaccine that will prompt Poland to improve its technology and overall response" to possible future Russian attacks.

Russian navy was accused of manipulating social media and pointing its finger at Ukraine, media and the Polish government

Although the Polish government called on the public to remain calm and avoid panic in its preliminary response, public opinion on social media to hold accountable and seek "scapegoats" quickly fermented.

Trend analysis by European analytical agency "Res Futura" shows that 38% of online comments blamed Ukraine for the incident, and only 34% pointed the finger at Russia. The rest are blamed on the Polish government, the media and NATO.

Another survey during the same period also showed that the core of most cyber activities was to incite people to worry about the Polish government's ability to defend the country.

Although it is not clear to what extent these public opinions are affected by Russian "water army" activities, they paint a picture of Polish cyberspace being deeply influenced by Russian narratives.

Kacevic believes: "Fighting these Russian naval factories is a bit like Don Quixote challenging the windmill. You can work hard to promote (positive) narrative online, including with the help of opinion leaders, but this cannot make Russian narrative disappear from the Internet."

Polish officials claim that the situation is not at risk. "We have recently adjusted our approach to countering Russian false information, for example, we are already identifying specific narratives driven by Russia's troll farm."

An official statement from the Polish government on September 10 supported these claims. The statement describes its identified propaganda points of Russia after the attack: that is, Poland is unprepared for what happened, while Ukraine tries to drag Warsaw into a war with Russia.

In the Polish town of Wyryki, only 15 kilometers from the border between Belarus and Ukraine, local residents were panicking and worried that the country was sliding to the brink of war.

"The news I see on TV or hear on the radio always feels far away from me. But what happened yesterday is indescribable." Local resident Ursula Zapuzaluk told the Kiev Independent.

"I no longer feel safe."