"Russia has endangered human lives in a state that is a member of NATO and the EU," Merz said in a statement.
"This reckless action is part of a long chain of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and on NATO's eastern flank. The German government condemns this aggressive Russian action in the strongest possible terms."
Later, Merz said he had spoken on the phone with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and that he shared his view that "this is a very serious threat to peace throughout Europe".
"This is a new level of attacks that we are seeing from Russia," Merz said at a press conference in Berlin.
"The Russian government's claim that this was... an accident or mistake is not credible."
Government spokesman Sebastian Hille earlier said Moscow was "testing" Ukraine's allies with the violation of Polish airspace, which he called a "very serious" incident.
Hille said it "once again shows the threat that we face" and how much Germany and other NATO countries "are being tested by Russia".
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament the drones were "clearly set on this course" and "did not have to fly this route to reach Ukraine".
"There is absolutely no reason to believe that this was a course correction error or anything of the sort," Pistorius said.
According to Polish sources, the drones were "suitably armed", the defence minister added. "So something could have happened at any time."
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Russia had "carelessly risked a dangerous escalation" with drones entering Polish airspace "on a significant scale".
He added: "Russia must know that NATO is capable of action and that it will react to defend NATO territory."
Poland was gathering its NATO allies for urgent talks Wednesday after the Russian drones flew into its airspace during an overnight attack on Ukraine.
Tusk said he had invoked NATO's Article 4 under which a member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk.
Pistorius said Germany was cooperating with Poland in the form of consultations under Article 4, saying: "We support this approach, which we consider to be correct."
Poland invokes NATO Article 4 for urgent talks after drone incursion
Warsaw (AFP) Sept 10, 2025 -
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday that the NATO member had invoked the Western defence alliance's Article 4 for urgent talks after Russian drones violated its airspace.
Tusk told parliament that Poland had identified 19 violations of its airspace overnight and shot down at least three drones, adding that no one was harmed in the "Russian action".
"The allied consultations I am referring to have now taken the form of a formal request to invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty," he added.
The North Atlantic Council, NATO's main political decision-making body, met on Wednesday morning for its regular weekly meeting.
However, according to diplomats, the allies decided that the meeting would be held under Article 4 of the alliance treaty.
Under Article 4, any member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk.
The Polish case marked the eighth time the article has been invoked since the alliance was founded in 1949.
Wednesday's talks are the third time Article 4 has been invoked to address Russia's incursions into and invasion of Ukraine.
NATO's collective security is based on its Article 5 principle: if one member is attacked, the entire alliance comes to its defence.
That article has only been invoked once in the history of NATO, following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
NATO says its air defences helped counter drones in Polish airspace
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Sept 10, 2025 -
NATO air defences helped counter drones that entered Polish airspace overnight and alliance chief Mark Rutte is in contact with Warsaw, a NATO spokeswoman said Wednesday.
"Numerous drones entered Polish airspace overnight and were met with Polish and NATO air defences. The NATO Secretary General is in touch with Polish leadership and NATO is consulting closely with Poland," spokeswoman Allison Hart wrote on X.
NATO's top commander in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said the alliance reacted "quickly and decisively to the situation".
A spokesman said in a statement the incident was the "first time NATO aircrafts have engaged potential threats in allied airspace".
The statement said fighters from the Netherlands' air force had responded and engaged the potential threats.
German Patriot air defence systems in Poland were placed on alert and an Italian early warning aircraft was launched.
"NATO... is committed to defending every kilometre of NATO territory, including our airspace," the statement said.
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