Poland is seriously considering participating in the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) project to strengthen the protection of its airspace in the face of a possible attack from Russia.

"Our task today is to use all systems to protect Polish airspace in order to make Poland as safe as Israel," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, April 16, after a cabinet meeting on security issues.

Tusk emphasized that during Iran's attack on Israel, the latter managed to intercept almost all missiles and drones, while Ukraine manages to destroy only a third of Russian missiles.

"It follows that in order to increase the level of security, it is necessary to control the airspace over its territory," dpa quoted the Polish Prime Minister as saying.

The European Sky Shield air defense system, which is being created at the initiative of Germany, is designed to strengthen NATO's protective umbrella. The project involves the joint purchase of IRIS-T SLM air defense systems by European countries.

In Poland, there is no consensus on participation in the German initiative. President Andrzej Duda has previously called ESSI a "German business project" that Warsaw should not join, as it already uses Patriot systems alongside the United States and the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk insists on the contrary, supporting his point of view with evidence from the Polish military, which sees no downside to Poland's participation in several air defense projects amid the growing threat from Russia.

The president is in charge of the armed forces in Poland, but the government makes the decision to purchase weapons. Tusk and Duda represent different camps and disagree on many domestic policy issues. At the same time, Poland is one of Ukraine's closest military allies in the war with Russia. Western military aid is transported to Kyiv through the country.

This fact makes Warsaw one of the main potential targets for Russia among Ukraine's partners in the European Union.