Poland pledges to strengthen security after drone strikes along border with Ukraine

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland pledged increased security along its border with Ukraine after a wave of Russian drone strikes near the frontier, including two that landed within kilometers of Polish territory.

The move came as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Moscow appears poised to intensify its campaign against Ukraine’s borders with European countries. Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses.

“These coming weeks and months will be a time of very intensified actions on the Russian side, and unfortunately we cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory,” Tusk said Sunday after a governmental security briefing in Warsaw. He issued a similar warning on Thursday.

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Monday in a post on X that the Polish army recovered what was believed to be a Russian military drone from the Baltic Sea near the coastal village of Jaroslawiec.

Polish officials said intelligence reports, including a CIA briefing last week, suggested Russia was likely to attack border points and intensify sabotage actions inside European countries as part of its efforts to discourage partners from supporting Ukraine.

Tusk said he would consult NATO allies on preparing a potential joint response.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski underscored the alliance’s military edge in a social media post, saying that in the event of Russian aggression against NATO, European NATO air forces, without U.S. participation, would be capable of destroying half of Russia’s oil refineries faster than Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk described Sunday’s drone strikes as a serious escalation from Russia. He told broadcaster TVN24 on Monday that any spillover into European countries could take the form of sabotage or a sharp intensification of hybrid warfare “on a scale that we have not seen before,” or other actions along NATO’s borders.

The warnings followed a strike Sunday on a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, minutes after a diplomatic delegation that included former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed through the same station, according to Ukraine’s state rail operator. A second strike hit near a separate border crossing point between Poland and Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said Monday that the drone attacks near Poland's border were “clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine.”

“We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared,” she said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked Monday about the strike on the train near the Polish border, said Russian forces were operating “across the entire territory of Ukraine and continues to do so — and will continue to do so.”

Peskov noted the potential role of Global South nations in a settlement, saying “any country can use its influence on the Kyiv regime to encourage it to show greater flexibility.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi each expressed willingness to help broker a settlement during recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who briefed them on the situation in Ukraine, Peskov said.

Peskov also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel facilities, saying “any call on the Kyiv regime to stop strikes on civilian economic infrastructure can only be welcomed.”

Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past an average of $6 per gallon.

Morton reported from London. Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrives for the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, speaks during a joint news conference with Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office, a locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine's border with Poland, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office via AP)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's next government remained uncertain on Monday as the national election inched toward a final result, with a thin lead for the left-wing opposition and an underwhelming performance by a hard-right anti-immigration party.

Preliminary results showed a narrow advantage for the opposition and former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s bid to return to office at the head of a left-wing coalition, although her own center-left Social Democrats lost support.

But even if the left does win a majority of seats, Andersson faces a complicated task to translate that into a government, and conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would explore “possibilities” given the close result.

Sweden, which has about 10.6 million inhabitants, is a member of the European Union and the newest member of NATO.

With more than 94% of districts counted, the Swedish Election Authority reported that the four opposition parties were heading for 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag, with 173 seats going to the four parties that make up or support the outgoing government.

The outcome may not be decided until Wednesday, when local election boards count early votes that did not make it to the polling stations by Election Day. That includes, among other things, overseas votes.

Andersson told supporters that “we must wait for the final election result” but added that “right now we are leading.”

Kristersson has led Sweden since 2022 with a three-party center-right coalition. It relied on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party that has far-right roots but has moved toward the political mainstream, for a parliamentary majority. The Sweden Democrats had been promised Cabinet posts this time if the governing coalition were returned to office.

“When we have the final result it’s a good idea to look at possible combinations,” he said early Monday, adding that “there is a very clear non-socialist majority, or non-left leaning economic majority in the Swedish parliament. And I will actually take note of that and at least figure out whether there are any possibilities.”

He said that the outcome “could lead to a complicated process of forming a government. It may take time, but we’re in no rush.”

Andersson's Social Democrats emerged as the biggest single party with a bit over 28% of the vote but lost support compared with the last election in 2022. And there are tensions between two parties in the opposition bloc: the Center Party has said it doesn't want to go into government with the Left Party. Any combinations across the traditional right-left division would also be complicated.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Sweden Democrats' support slipped to just under 18%, down about 3 percentage points from its 2022 result, and they fell behind Kristersson's Moderates to land in third place.

With broad political consensus in Sweden on several major issues such as support for Ukraine and the country’s decision to join NATO, much election discussion focused on the possibility of the anti-immigration hard right entering government. The Sweden Democrats’ role was in focus against a background of gains for the populist right in Europe.

The Sweden Democrats were founded in the 1980s by people who had been active in right-wing extremist groups, including neo-Nazis. They toned down their rhetoric and expelled openly racist members under Jimmie Åkesson, who has led them since 2005 and overseen their growth from what was once a marginal party.

David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson leaves the official residence, Sager House, in Stockholm, a day after the vote in a general election, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

A ballot envelope is placed in a ballot box at a polling station at the City Hall in Malmo, Sweden, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Leader of the Sweden Democrats party Jimmie Åkesson speaks during the Sweden Democrats election night watch party, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Stockholm. (Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency via AP)

Social Democrats party leader Magdalena Andersson speaks during the Social Democrats' election night watch party, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Stockholm. (Jonas Ekströmer/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson arrives at the Moderate Party election watch night in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Social Democrats party leader Magdalena Andersson arrives at the party's election watch night in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Jonas Ekstroemer/TT News Agency via AP)