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OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada summoned Russian ambassador Oleg Stepanov over the incursion of Russian drones into Poland this week, as Ottawa looks to help a new effort by the NATO military alliance reinforce its eastern flank.
The summoning occurred hours after Poland reported multiple Russian drones had entered Polish territory between Tuesday and Wednesday. NATO allies shot down some of the devices.
“On Wednesday, Canada summoned the Russian ambassador and officially reprimanded Russia for the drone attacks over Polish airspace,” Anand told The Canadian Press in an interview on Friday afternoon.
“It speaks to the absolute unacceptability of the incursion into Polish airspace, and therefore NATO airspace.”
Her office provided a departmental readout of the summoning, which described the incident as “unacceptable and reckless, and risking escalation with NATO.”
It said Canada stressed Russia would not change Canada’s support for Ukraine.
“The scale and duration of the airspace violations made it hard to conclude that the action was not deliberate,” it reads. “No country would ever accept this type of encroachment into their airspace.”
GAC’s readout says that Stepanov “noted that the situation on the ground was complex and that with electronic warfare, ‘anything can happen.’ He further went on to say that there would be no reason for Russia to attack Poland or any other NATO ally or for incursions into NATO airspace — to which GAC agreed.”
The Russian Embassy in Ottawa wrote late Friday that Stepanov indeed told Global Affairs that Moscow has no reason to want to enter NATO airspace.
“The ambassador highlighted Moscow’s proposal to the Polish side to immediately hold bilateral consultations on the drones incident,” the embassy wrote in an emailed statement.
“He said that within classic diplomatic practice, Warsaw should have used the available bilateral channels of communications with Moscow before making allegations and bringing the matter into NATO.”
Anand said in light of the incursions, Canada’s contribution to Ukrainian security “will continue to be significant, and in keeping with what our NATO allies are doing.”
Canada already has a relatively large presence in the region, including its presence with about 2,000 troops in a NATO battle brigade in Latvia, and did not have fresh supports for NATO to announce this week.
“We will continue to do whatever is necessary to strengthen the eastern flank,” Anand said.
Defence Minister David McGuinty was circumspect on Wednesday about whether Canada was among those taking down the drones, and suggested he might be able to say more later.
On Friday, Anand would say only that detail “rests with” McGuinty.
Russia and its close associate Belarus have suggested the incursions may have been a mistake caused by network jamming, but many European leaders say it was a deliberate test of their capacity and alliance resolve.
In a social media post on Friday, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the incursion could not have been a mistake.
“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” he wrote on X.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday the incursions amount to a reckless act, regardless of intent.
He announced the alliance is bulking up defences along its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with new ground and air equipment.
The new operation, dubbed Eastern Sentry, will use equipment from France, Denmark, Germany and the U.K. NATO’s supreme commander said the move aims to plug gaps in the defensive line and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed.
Anand spoke Friday morning with Rutte, and said Ottawa will help with Eastern Sentry however it can.
“It is designed to be flexible and mobile military activity. It’s going to allow NATO to quickly shift forces and assets in response to emerging threats, such as drone attacks. And the purpose is to enhance deterrence and demonstrate NATO’s readiness to defend every inch of allied territory,” she said.
“Eastern Sentry is really about being proactive and visible, to prevent further aggression.”
Anand also spoke with her Polish and Ukrainian counterparts this week, and said the need for Putin to end his war in Ukraine “has been the overarching point that has emerged from every conversation that I have had.”
Carleton University professor Stephen Saideman says Canada has already beefed up its contribution to NATO in the region, both with current air exercises and the ongoing mission in Latvia that Carney visited last month.
“The fact that we haven’t done anything doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
Saideman said the alliance and Poland are likely still identifying whether there are gaps that Ottawa could help fill.
“Getting the ducks in a row makes sense,” he said. “It’s too soon to say that we’re out of sync with our allies. The European allies need to act first, because it’s their neighbourhood, and then we’re going to follow their lead.”
The Conservatives on Friday referred to their previous statements, in which defence critic James Bezan echoed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement that more pressure must be put on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.
Also Friday, G7 finance ministers met virtually to consider how they can do more to financially support Ukraine, including going further in using frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine’s defence.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne chaired the meeting, and his readout says colleagues “agreed to accelerate discussions” on the matter, including “to explore other mechanisms … such as tariffs, on those enabling Russia’s war effort.”
The summary says the meeting was prompted by Russia’s increasingly aggressive stance, including recent bombings in Ukraine and Wednesday’s drone incursion, and its unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire.
Champagne’s press secretary John Fragos said the group also spoke about ways to limit Russia’s “war machinery.”
Washington wants to push its peers to go further, with U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Canada and others pursue “imposing tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia,” such as India, according to a joint statement from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” reads the U.S. statement.
— With files from Catherine Morrison and The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
