The first public reaction is strong anxiety, noted Laurynas Vaičiūnas, head of the East European College in Wrocław.

"Most of the drones didn't cause much damage, but one drone hit a house, destroying part of it - one floor."

Let us remind you that there are two victims of Russia's war against Ukraine in Poland. Two years ago, two Polish citizens died in similar places, namely in the Lublin Voivodeship. So the anxiety is really felt," said L. Vaičiūnas in the"Žinių radija" program "Dienos kulaimas".

True, he noted that NATO's leadership in Europe sided with Poland and sent a clear message that all decisions were made in solidarity.

"This is a rare case when NATO allies - the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, as well as Italy - take military action to defend space. These are military forces from several European countries to defend the airspace of an ally. I think this should be interpreted as an exceptional case," emphasized L. Vaičiūnas.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki's active engagement with US President Donald Trump and a new confirmation that US troops would not withdraw from Poland were supposed to reassure Poles. But after the drone strike, residents were disappointed that Trump had not clearly responded to the incident.

"There is a kind of bitterness among security experts that something more could have been expected. On the other hand, Trump supporters living in Poland say, let's wait, maybe there will be a more serious response from NATO as a whole," said L. Vaičiūnas.

Mobilized the top of Polish politicians

Perhaps the most widely-regarded interpretation of the Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace is that Vladimir Putin was testing NATO's reaction.

"I think the test of political reaction is more important than military preparedness," said security expert Ignas Stankovičius.

A positive sign is that in the face of the attack, political opponents seem to have forgotten their differences. D. Tusk and K. Nawrocki showed unity.

"Danger unites. I would say there is a message that the Polish political leadership feels the danger. Because only in the face of danger do you unite, then political contradictions are irrelevant," said I. Stankovic.

According to him, the incident in Poland should be viewed as part of the Zapad exercises, regardless of the fact that their formally active phase only began on Friday.

Poland has announced that it is closing its airspace in the East for 3 months. I. Stankovic explained that the movement of passenger aircraft is being stopped for security reasons, because attempts to shoot down drones could also harm civilian aircraft.

"If you are shooting, there should be no one between the target and the barrel," said I. Stankovičius.

NATO's most sensitive spot

Following the Russian drone attack in Poland, discussions began within the framework of NATO's Article 4. However, questions were raised in the public sphere as to why Article 5 of the alliance treaty had been forgotten.

"We know that NATO's Article 5 has only been invoked once in history - after a terrorist attack on the United States. Of course, there is always the possibility of doing so, because Article 5 is quite abstract."

He does not talk about specific measures. He says that allies should contribute to strengthening the defense capabilities of the state that is attacked and to repelling the threat. In this case, there is no desire to escalate the situation to a level that would signal a maximum NATO response.

"If it were not one that would create a real deterrent effect and solve this problem in the long term, then the credibility of NATO's Article 5 itself would be shaken. And we understand, and NATO officials have repeatedly admitted, that airspace defense is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable areas of the entire alliance today," said Linas Kojala, head of the Center for Geopolitical and Security Studies.

He added that there is no quick solution to this problem, and measures to address it would be financially costly.

"This was just the beginning"

Alvydas Medalinskas, a political scientist at Mykolas Romeris University, speculated that poking at NATO's weaknesses could help Putin create a more comfortable negotiating position. The Russian leader may recall his package of demands, which he presented in December 2021.

"There, they demand that NATO expansion be recognized as a threat to Russia and that those states that joined NATO during the major expansion be left in a kind of gray zone," said A. Medalinskas.

"Despite the 3 and a half years of Russia's large-scale war against Ukraine, where drones and air defense issues are one of the essential elements, NATO countries are not prepared to repel a possible drone attack from the Russian side, except for very expensive options when fighter jets are sent into the sky," said A. Medalinskas.

He pointed out that in this scenario, drones that cost just 10 thousand euros or even less are shot down with missiles worth 3 million euros.

"V.Putin found NATO countries only partially prepared to face such challenges and at the same time sent a message that anything could happen. You sit back and consider what else could happen. I think this was just the beginning. I think that if Western countries – both the US and the European Union – do not adopt very strict economic sanctions against Russia, then V.Putin will realize that the limits are expanding."

"Then next time 30, 40, 50 drones may fly in. Of course, we may face sabotage, some major natural disasters, attempts to destabilize the situation. That's why Poland closed its skies even until December 9," warned A. Medalinskas.

But L. Kojala emphasized that NATO may not have revealed all its cards. And the loudly expressed doubts about the alliance's effectiveness are a joy for Moscow.

"We understand perfectly well that one of Russia's goals is to test our defense systems. But we should not assume that we are doing everything we would do at every step, even if the scale of the attack were much larger, that there would be no doubt that this is something more than a provocation."

"If we focus every time only on what failed, what was not done, and wrap it up with arguments about what we do not know because it is classified information, then we will contribute to the narrative that makes V. Putin and the entire Kremlin system feel better. One of his goals is to discredit the NATO alliance as a political and practical idea," emphasized L. Kojala.