Tusk warns Russia may test NATO months

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on April 24 that Russia could attack a NATO country in “months rather than years.” (usnews.com) He made the warning in an interview with the Financial Times and said Europe’s “biggest, most important question” is whether the United States would be “loyal” to its treaty commitments in a real attack. (usnews.com) (yahoo.com) Tusk also said the European Union must become a “real alliance” for the continent’s defense, tying his argument to fears about President Donald Trump’s unpredictable approach toward European partners. (usnews.com) Article 5 is the core NATO pledge: an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, and each ally must assist. NATO says the clause has been invoked only once, after the September 11 attacks on the United States. (nato.int) Tusk’s comments landed after Poland’s threat picture changed sharply in September 2025, when Warsaw formally requested NATO Article 4 consultations after 19 drones violated Polish airspace during a Russian attack on western Ukraine. (gov.pl) (cbc.ca) Article 4 is not a war clause. It lets a member call urgent consultations when it believes its territory, political independence, or security is under threat. (gov.pl) (cbc.ca) Poland has been one of NATO’s most hawkish members on Russia and already spends nearly 5% of gross domestic product on defense, the highest share in the alliance, according to Polish Radio’s report on Tusk’s remarks. (polskieradio.pl) The immediate dispute is not over what Article 5 says on paper. Tusk said he wants proof that the guarantee would become “something very practical” if Russia tested NATO’s eastern flank. (kyivindependent.com) (newsukraine.rbc.ua) Washington’s envoy in Warsaw pushed back after the interview, asking whether European allies were as loyal to the United States as they expected America to be to them. (polskieradio.pl) Tusk’s warning was less a prediction of a dated attack than a demand for a visible answer now: that NATO’s treaty promise be matched by logistics, readiness, and allied political will. (usnews.com) (nato.int)