WASHINGTON DC – A stunning silence from the White House greeted news that a NATO ally for the first time engaged and shot down Russian military assets, as a new and potentially dangerous chapter in the Ukraine war unfolded on Europe’s eastern flank.

While Poland confirmed it had scrambled its own and allied air defenses to neutralize Russian drones that violated its airspace, President Donald Trump, when asked by reporters about the incident Tuesday night, offered no response.

Polish response: military action and a new precedent

The dramatic developments unfolded early Wednesday local time in Poland, where the country’s military command reported that its airspace was “repeatedly violated by drone-type objects” as Russia launched a new wave of air attacks on western Ukraine.

In an unprecedented move for the conflict, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the military had “used weaponry against the objects,” an operation launched after what he described as “repeated violations of Polish airspace.”

Poland’s armed forces said an “operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing the objects” and that services were “actively working to locate the downed objects.”

The military also urged residents in the at-risk regions of Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin to stay at home, a stark warning that highlights the immediate danger.

Lublin province directly borders Ukraine, while the others are in close proximity, including Mazowieckie, which contains the capital, Warsaw.

The Polish military’s operational command has brought its ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems to their “highest state of readiness.”

In a clear sign of the gravity of the situation, Poland’s Defense Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, confirmed on social media that he was in “constant contact with NATO command,” a necessary step under the collective defense pact.

Poland’s President, Karol Nawrocki, who had met with President Trump just last week, was also kept informed of the situation by the National Security Bureau.

Nawrocki had warned a day before the incident that he believed Putin was “ready to also invade other countries,” a statement that now appears prophetic.

Civilian d isruption and a irport c losures

The incursion has also disrupted civilian life. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted notices stating that four airports in Poland were closed “due to unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security.”

The closed airports include the country’s largest, Chopin Airport in Warsaw, as well as Warsaw Modlin Airport, Lublin airport, and the key logistics and arms transfer hub, Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, in the country’s southeast.

While Reuters noted there was no official confirmation from Polish authorities, the FAA notices were a clear indication of the disruption.

The events are a significant escalation in a series of incidents that have rattled Poland since the start of the war. Poland has been on high alert since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a village in 2022, killing two people.

However, unlike that incident, there were no reports of Polish or allied defense systems destroying drones. This time, Poland’s decisive action of engaging and shooting down the objects marks a new, more confrontational stance.

Test of r esolve: bipartisan c oncerns e merge

The US President’s silence stood in stark contrast to the immediate and sharp reactions from some of his key allies in Congress, who were quick to condemn the incursion as a direct challenge to the transatlantic alliance.

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wasted no time in labeling the event an “act of war.”

Writing on social media, Wilson stated, “Russia is attacking NATO ally Poland with Iranian Shahed drones less than a week after President Trump hosted President Nawrocki at the White House. This is an act of war, and we are grateful to NATO allies for their swift response.”

Wilson also directly urged the President to take decisive action, writing: “I urge President Trump to respond with mandatory sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine and arm Ukraine with weapons capable of striking Russia.”

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “now directly testing our resolve in NATO territory.”

Across the aisle, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) of the Senate Judiciary Committee issued an equally grave warning, calling the repeated violations of NATO airspace “fair warning that Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”

Durbin emphasized that “these incursions cannot be ignored.”

The reactions from Capitol Hill underscore a bipartisan concern that the war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling beyond its borders, creating a new level of risk for NATO member states.

The silence from the White House, against the backdrop of hawkish comments from key lawmakers, presents a fragmented picture of American leadership and raises questions about how the US would respond to a direct attack on a NATO ally.

Broader c ontext: Military exercises and NATO’s Article 5

The alleged incursion also comes just as Russia and Belarus are set to begin military drills. Poland had already announced it would close its border with Belarus as a precautionary measure due to what Prime Minister Tusk called “very aggressive” exercises.

The incident raises critical questions about NATO’s Article 5, which obliges members to respond to an attack on a fellow alliance nation, in the ways those nations see fit.

While Russian drones and missiles entering NATO airspace have not been treated as an attack on the alliance in the past, Poland’s decision to actively shoot down the drones could change the calculus.

The Article 5 defense clause is not automatically triggered and requires a request from the state attacked. Poland’s actions to neutralize the threat itself suggest a careful, calibrated response designed to defend its sovereignty without immediately invoking the full-scale collective defense clause.

Still, the incident serves as a crucial test of NATO’s resolve and readiness. It highlights the delicate balance between responding forcefully to provocations and avoiding a direct conflict with a nuclear power.

While Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, in a recent interview with Kyiv Post, praised Trump’s calls for NATO countries to increase their defense spending, the lack of an immediate, unified response from the US administration could create uncertainty among allies.

As the operation to locate the downed drones continues on the ground in Poland, the world waits to see what the next move will be from Warsaw, Moscow, and the rest of the NATO alliance.