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Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday, the first time a NATO member is known to have fired shots since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament there had been 19 intrusions into Polish airspace overnight and that he had activated Article 4 of NATO's treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.

"I have no reason to claim we're on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it's incomparably more dangerous than before," he said.

"This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two."

Tusk said the shooting down of three drones had been confirmed, and it was likely a fourth had been downed.

Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who serves as defence minister, thanked NATO Air Command and The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force for supporting the action with F-35 fighter jets.

The Polish armed forces said Wednesday morning that a search for possible crash sites is ongoing and urged people not to approach, touch or move any objects they see, warning that they may pose a threat and could contain hazardous material.

Poland has found seven drones and parts of one missile following intrusion of drones into Polish airspace overnight, Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka told a news briefing.

Chopin airport in Warsaw, the country's largest, closed its airspace for several hours before reopening. It said there would be disruptions and delays through the day. The airport in the city of Lublin, in eastern Poland, remained closed.

NATO confirms supporting Polish defence

NATO said its air defences supported Poland, and chief spokesperson Allison Hart said the military organization's 32 national envoys will discuss the matter at a pre-planned meeting.

"Whether it was intentionally or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous. But the full assessment is ongoing," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

"To Putin, my message is clear. Stop the war in Ukraine. Stop violating allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory."

Col. Martin O'Donnell, NATO's Supreme Allied Powers Europe, said, "This is the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace."

Several European officials described the incursion as intentional and a sign of Russian escalation.

"Russia's war is escalating, not ending. We must raise the cost on Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine, and invest in Europe's defence," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called for more sanctions on Russia, and said the EU was preparing sanctions on 'shadow fleet' tankers that transport its oil and third countries that buy it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used 415 drones and 40 missiles in attacks on Ukraine overnight, adding that at least eight Iranian-made Shahed drones had been aimed toward Poland.

"An extremely dangerous precedent for Europe," he said."A strong response is needed — and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States."

Most of Ukraine, including western regions of Volyn and Lviv which border Poland, had been under air raid alerts nearly all night, according to Ukraine's air force.

Russia prepared to consult with Poland, Kremlin says

Countries bordering on Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace in the past during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down. Two people were killed in Poland in 2022 by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray.

Last month, Poland's defence minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland was identified as a Russian drone, and called it a provocation by Russia.

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Leaders in the strategically located Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — the NATO members that are most nervous about Russian aggression — expressed deep concerns about Wednesday's developments.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine but that it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.

The ministry said its forces had achieved all its targets in the attack, and pointed out that the Russian drones"which allegedly crossed the border with Poland" had a range of not more than 700 kilometres.

"Nevertheless, we are prepared to hold consultations with the Polish Defence Ministry on this topic," the ministry said.

Andrey Ordash, Russia's charge d'affaires in Poland, had earlier characterized the Polish and NATO accusations as"groundless." Ordash was quoted from a Russian RIA state news agency report.

The Defence Ministry separately said in its morning report that it had destroyed 122 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions overnight, including over the illegally annexed Crimea and areas of the Black Sea.

U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to take action

In the United States, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said reports of repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones were a sign that,"Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations."

"After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored," he said on X.

Republican representative Joe Wilson, a senior member of the foreign affairs committee, said in a post on X that Russia was"attacking NATO ally Poland" with drones, calling it an"act of war."

He urged U.S. President Donald Trump to respond with sanctions"that will bankrupt the Russian war machine."

Trump, who warmly welcomed Putin in Alaska at a summit in August, has warned the Russian leader of"severe consequences" if he wasn't serious about efforts to reach a peace deal after over three years of war. But his White House has yet to apply additional sanctions on Russia.

The confrontation comes as Poland is expected to get $51.3 billion US under a European Union program to boost its defence capabilities.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Trump's insistence that Europe take more responsibility for its own security prompted Brussels to form the $175.6 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund.