Russia denies Russian drones over Poland were Russian | LBC full interview

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has denied Moscow was behind a series of drone incursions into Poland and Romania, instead accusing Ukraine of staging “false flag operations” to worsen tensions with its neighbours.

Andrei Kelin told LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that Russia had “no intention to target Poland” and “no motives” to strike the country, after Warsaw accused Moscow of responsibility for repeated drone activity near its border.

“We have seen many false flag operations from Kyiv authorities during these years,” Mr Kelin said. “On the other side, I can imagine that Kyiv authorities do have motives… in order to improve relationship with Poland, in order to attract attention once again.”

When Nick pressed him on whether Russian drones were involved, Mr Kelin replied: “I don’t think so. The Ministry of Defence definitely has said that it’s not the case. If Poland or United Kingdom is prepared for a professional conversation for that, we are eager to do this, but unfortunately, they do not want to do this.”

On separate reports of drones in Romania, the ambassador described the situation as “very vague” and declined to comment further.

Poland has repeatedly accused Moscow of reckless behaviour after debris from Russian drones targeting Ukraine has landed inside its territory. In August, Warsaw summoned Mr Kelin to the Foreign Office in London to explain the incidents, warning of “serious consequences” if NATO territory was hit.

The ambassador suggested drones recovered in Poland may have been re-launched from inside Ukraine: “These are decoys… a lot of them are on the territory of Ukraine right now, because they’re flying them. They’re pulling [them] down. You just have to pick it up, refill it, and then send again.”

Romania, another NATO member, has also reported suspected Russian drone fragments on its territory in recent months. Both governments have condemned the incursions as a risk to alliance security, though NATO has so far described the incidents as accidental spillover from Moscow’s war in Ukraine rather than deliberate strikes.

Mr Kelin maintained Moscow’s line that there is “no Russian involvement”, insisting: “We have no targets in Poland. We have no intention to target Poland.”

Mr Kelin also told LBC that the arrival of President Trump in the White House marked a “dramatic [positive] change” to the peace process, claimed NATO “cannot play any peacekeeping role” in Ukraine, and dismissed Western figures that more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted to Russia.

“The list from Ukrainians is 339 names only,” he said. “Just remember please, 300 – not 19,000, which has nothing in common with reality.”

The ambassador predicted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be “defeated in the elections” once martial law is lifted, and did not rule out President Putin attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

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