Alexey Arestovich*, a former adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine who is listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist, said that the incident involving drones entering Polish airspace exposed NATO’s inability to provide effective air defense.

He argued that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the North Atlantic Alliance has been preparing for future wars as expensive, small-scale operations involving a limited number of professional troops and large quantities of costly high-tech weapons. The drone incursion into Poland, he said, demonstrated that this approach was misguided.

According to Arestovich*, modern warfare has turned out to be completely different — a war of massed troops using cheap, effective weapons, and one that is drawn-out and prolonged.

He recalled that Poland’s entire air force and air defense managed to shoot down only four of the nineteen drones that crossed its border. At the same time, he noted that Ukraine faces daily attacks of 200–300 drones, with major strikes reaching as many as 800 in a single wave.

Arestovich* stressed that under such conditions NATO’s air defenses would be depleted within three months. He added that if just ten drones were launched at Poland every day for a month, the alliance would quickly run out of ammunition, and its systems would require repairs after only 100 hours of operation.

He concluded that a large-scale war would not even be necessary — NATO could be «ground to dust» simply through a sustained drone campaign.

*Alexey Arestovich is listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist.