International Desk, Sep 10 (EFE).- Poland’s armed forces shot down Russian drones that “repeatedly violated” its airspace on Wednesday as European authorities condemned the unprecedented incident and warned of an “escalation” in the Ukraine war.
The Polish response marks the first time the country has engaged Russian assets in its airspace during the war in Ukraine. It also included NATO air support.
“An operation is underway related to multiple violations of Polish airspace. The military used armaments against the objects,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X.
The announcement came after the Polish Armed Forces’ Operational Command said that “our airspace was repeatedly violated by drone-type objects” and “an operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing the objects (…) weapons have been deployed.”
The areas most at risk were the eastern provinces of Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lublin, the command said, urging residents to stay at home. One drone damaged the roof of a house in Lublin but Tusk said there were no reports of injuries.
Polish and allied assets radar-tracked several objects, and those that posed a threat were “neutralized,” the command said. It is unknown exactly how many were shot down, but at least three.
Four airports, including Warsaw’s Chopin airport, were closed, according to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, but reopened later in the day.
‘Huge number of drones’
At around 7.30 am, the command said on social media its operation had concluded. It thanked NATO and the Netherlands for scrambling F-35 fighter jets in Polish territory. NATO confirmed its air defenses had taken part in the operation.
The command called the incident “an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace” and “an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens.”
The roof of a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone in Wyryki, eastern Poland, 10 September 2025. EFE/EPA/WOJTEK JARGILO POLAND OUT
“Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones,” Tusk said.
He later told parliament in a briefing that the first of 19 violations of Polish airspace, including some crossing from Belarus, occurred around 11.30pm on Tuesday, and the last one at 6.30am Wednesday.
He said the prospect of a large military conflict is “closer than at any time since the second world war.”
Poland will invoke NATO’s Article 4, requesting a formal consultation within the alliance, and Tusk will call a nation security council meeting within 48 hours.
The foreign ministry summoned Russian Chargé d’Affaires Andrei Ordash, who said the accusations arising from the incursion are “unfounded” and that Warsaw has not proven the drones are Russian, RIA Novosti reported.
‘Dangerous precedent for Europe’
The drone incursions came amid a massive Russian attack on Ukraine using at least 415 drones and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles across 15 regions, figures given by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday morning. However, speculation is mounting that the incursions were deliberate.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy called the incident in Poland “another escalation” in Russia’s war and an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe.”
He also wrote on X that “increasing evidence indicates that this movement, this direction of strike, was no accident.”
“There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and traveling a short distance into neighboring countries. But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting.”
He called for sanctions and more weapons, and a “strong response” to Russia from all partners, including Ukraine, Poland, Europe and the United States.
The European Union and governments including Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Latvia, as well as the UK condemned Russia’s actions and expressed full support for Poland.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a post on X that “Russia’s war is escalating, not ending.”
“Last night in Poland, we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental,” she wrote.
In her State of the Union speech, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “today we have seen a reckless and unprecedented violation of Poland and Europe’s airspace.”
Emergency services inspect the site after a Russian drone damaged the roof of a residential building in Wyryki, eastern Poland, 10 September 2025.
EFE/EPA/WOJTEK JARGILO POLAND OUT
“Putin’s message is clear, and our response must be clear too. We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. We need more sanctions,” she said.
Meanwhile, the chief of the General Staff of the armed forces of Russia’s ally Belarus, Pavel Muraveiko, claimed the drones had “lost their way” during an exchange of fire between Ukraine and Russia “as a result of the impact of the parties’ electronic warfare assets,” adding it had also shot some down.
Romania’s defense ministry also reported that it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to investigate two Russian drones near its airspace in the early hours of the morning, but no incursions took place. EFE
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