Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones During Airspace Intrusion Amid Russia’s Ukraine Strikes
Polish and NATO forces have shot down drones violating the country’s airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Fighter jets were scrambled early on Wednesday as more than a dozen drones entered Polish airspace, the Polish military said. It is the first time that Polish and NATO forces have become engaged in the conflict. Ukraine said that Russia is testing the West.
“During today’s attack by the Russian Federation on targets in Ukraine, our airspace was repeatedly violated by drones,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement early on Wednesday.
“At the request of the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, weapons have been used, and operations are under way to locate the downed targets,” the military said.
The army said Polish and NATO military aircraft had been mobilised to ensure airspace safety.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” the operational command said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that an “operation is under way related to multiple violations of Polish airspace”.
Translation: An operation is under way related to multiple violations of Polish airspace. The military used armaments against the objects. I am in constant contact with the president and the minister of defence. I received a direct report from the operational commander.
The operation to collect debris from the drones was underway on Wednesday morning.
A drone or similar object struck a residential building in Wyryki in eastern Poland but nobody was injured, the local mayor told state-run news channel TVP Info. Footage showed a house with a damaged roof and the rafters showing.
Police in the Lublin region said they found a damaged drone in the village of Czosnowka, while drone debris was also reported in the town of Czesniki.
Tusk confirmed that the drones originated from Russia. “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” the prime minister said.
‘Testing the West’
The prime minister declared that he is in “constant contact” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. An emergency meeting of the Polish council of ministers was called for Wednesday morning.
“Aircraft have used weapons against hostile objects,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on social media, adding: “We are in constant contact with NATO command.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that the events show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s impunity and his expansion of the war, and that Moscow is testing the West’s willingness to respond to aggression.
“Putin just keeps escalating, expanding his war, and testing the West,” Andrii Sybiha said on X.
“This situation shows that finally the decision needs to be taken to enable partner air defence capabilities in neighbouring countries to be used to intercept drones and missiles in the Ukrainian airspace, including those approaching NATO borders.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said eight Russian drones had been “aimed toward” Poland, and called the episode “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
The European Union’s Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for the EU to develop a “drone wall” along its eastern flank.
“Once again Russia tests frontier states, EU & NATO,” Kubilius wrote in a post on social media. “We shall work together with Member States, frontier countries and Ukraine. Russia will be stopped.”
“Russia’s war is escalating, not ending. We must raise the cost on Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine, and invest in Europe’s defence. The EU plays a major role and we will support initiatives like the Eastern Border Shield defence line,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on social media.
‘Military activity’
Four airports in Poland, including Chopin Airport in Warsaw, were closed due to “military activity” late on Tuesday.
According to notices posted to the United States Federal Aviation Administration’s website, the three other airports closed were Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, Warsaw Modlin Airport, and Lublin Airport.
Chopin Airport confirmed later in a post on social media that airspace over parts of Poland, including over the airport, had been closed temporarily due to the “actions of state services and the military to ensure safety”.
Disrupted passengers were asked to monitor airlines and official government announcements for updates.
Early on Wednesday morning, all of the airports save for Lublin, which sits in the east of Poland, reopened.
The military mobilisation in Poland came after Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian drones had entered Polish airspace, posing a threat to the city of Zamosc, but the air force later removed the statement from its Telegram messaging app.
Most of Ukraine, including the western regions of Volyn and Lviv, which border Poland, were under air raid alerts for several hours overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force data.
Poland said earlier that it planned to close its border with Belarus at midnight local time on Thursday (22:00 GMT Wednesday) due to Russian-led military exercises scheduled to take place in Belarus.
Russia and Belarus’s large-scale military exercises, known as the “Zapad” drills, have raised security concerns in neighbouring NATO member states: Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The “Zapad-2025” (West-2025) drills will be held in western Russia and Belarus from Friday.
Asked about the duration of the border closure, Polish Minister of Interior Marcin Kierwinski said the border would only be reopened when the government was sure “there was no more threat to Polish citizens.”
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned the Polish charge d’affaires to complain about the border closure, which it said “caused significant difficulties”.
It described Poland’s move as “an abuse of its geographical position”.
“The temporary suspension of passage indicates rather an intention to conceal one’s own actions than the existence of any threat from Belarus,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Lithuania’s border guard said on Tuesday that the protection of its border with Belarus and Russia would be strengthened due to the exercises.
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