A heated exchange erupted during a pre-election debate in the Czech Republic over Russian drones that recently violated Polish airspace. Communist Party candidate Katerina Konecna argued that such incidents posed no “deadly threat,” while Transport Minister Martin Kupka, representing the ruling Civic Democratic Party, sharply rebuked her.
“I know that you would apologize to Russia for Poland standing in the way of those drones,” Kupka retorted, stressing that the drone incursions and Russian MiG flights over Estonia were not accidents but provocations. He added that he had “not heard a more false statement against Czech citizens and the Czech Republic in a long time.”
The exchange took place ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 3–4, with government representatives defending Prague’s pro-Ukraine policy in the face of criticism from the Communist Party.
Konecna argued that NATO should only intervene against Russian aircraft if they represented a “serious threat,” downplaying both the drone flights over Poland and deviations by Russian planes.
The controversy comes in the wake of repeated Russian drone incursions into Polish territory during Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine. On the night of September 9–10, Poland’s Operational Command reported multiple violations of its airspace, describing them as an “act of aggression” that created a real threat to public safety. By September 21, authorities confirmed that 18 drones had been recovered, with additional debris found in four new locations over the past weekend.
