Polish official says Russia might stage false flag to test NATO Article 5

Poland's deputy prime minister stated that Russia might stage a false flag operation on its own territory to justify an attack on a NATO country. The official said such an action would test Article 5, the alliance provision that requires members to assist any nation under attack.

"I wouldn't exclude the Russians doing some kind of false flag operation against Russian territory in order to have pretext for hitting one of the NATO countries," the deputy prime minister told CBS News.

5 Article 5 has been invoked only once, after the September 11 attacks, when NATO members provided support to the United States. The clause remains a central element of the alliance's collective defense commitments.