Poland has deployed its own NATO air defenses to shoot down drones in its airspace in response to a Russian attack on Ukraine that this time reached Poland's borders. According to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's initial assessment, a total of 19 drones appeared to have entered Polish airspace, at least three of which were shot down. However, this is not a definitive figure. The drones repeatedly violated Polish airspace during the Russian attack across the border. One drone hit a residential building in Wyryki in eastern Poland. No one was injured, according to Polsat News. Those that posed a threat were"neutralized." Some traveled some 250 kilometers above Polish soil.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that the possibility of a military conflict"is greater than at any time since World War II." "Nineteen violations were identified," and "we have now confirmed that three drones were shot down," he told parliament in a preliminary assessment, Carmen Valero reports.

Tusk said in a parliamentary speech that the drones that violated Polish airspace last night and were destroyed for posing a direct threat to the country's security arrived in Poland from Belarus."19 airspace violations were recorded and precisely located, but this data is not definitive, as the Chief of the General Staff only wants to convey confirmed information to the public. What is new, in the worst sense of the word, is the direction from which the drones that violated Polish airspace arrived: not from Ukraine, but as a result of mistakes and confusion by the drones or small-scale Russian provocations. For the first time, drones arrived in Poland from Belarus," the Prime Minister stressed.

For some analysts, this action from Belarus is a response to Poland's decision to suspend border traffic, including railway junctions, during the Belarusian-Russian Zapad 2025 exercises, which begin on Friday. These closures will affect traffic in the corridor to and from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Tusk revealed that three drones have been confirmed shot down so far, although it is highly likely that a fourth object was also shot down."We do not rule out the possibility of more. Due to the weather conditions and the nature of the operation, it will take some time to verify this," he said.

According to the data provided so far, the first airspace violation was recorded around 11:30 p.m. The last drone was destroyed at 6:45 a.m. This gives an idea of the magnitude of this operation, which lasted all night.

"In addition to ground systems, Saab and Awacs early warning aircraft were activated for air operations. This was a joint NATO operation. Two F-35s, two F-16s, (...), one MiG-17, and one Black Hawk were sent to the planned area of operation," he added.

According to the Prime Minister, the closure of Modlin, Warsaw, Rzeszów, and Lublin airports overnight was due to the need to ensure the freedom of military aviation and the preparation of additional support from allies."All airports have resumed operations. In this regard, I can reassure passengers: the decision to close had nothing to do with a possible threat to these locations, but with operational needs," Tusk said.

According to other sources, the number of aircraft is changing, as reported by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. This outlet reports that some 23 Russian drones were detected violating Russian airspace. The drones were shot down primarily by Dutch F-35s. Polish helicopters were also operating in the area, and the German Army's Patriot system, stationed near Rzeszów, was put on alert.

"Polish and allied forces detected several objects on radar, and considering those that could pose a threat, the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces decided to neutralize them. Some of the drones that invaded our airspace were shot down. Efforts are underway to locate the possible impact sites of these objects," the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces explained.

The Polish government believes that given such a massive violation of Polish airspace, it is difficult to consider it a coincidence or an incident.

"Following today's Russian attack on Ukrainian territory, there has been an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drones. This act of aggression has posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens," the Polish military's operational command stressed.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the drone incident in Poland. Asked about the drones, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:"In this case, we would not like to comment on it. It is not our responsibility, it is the prerogative of the Defense Ministry." Peskov said the Kremlin had not received any requests for contact from Poland, but dismissed accusations by the European Union and NATO that Russia had carried out a provocation."EU and NATO leaders accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis. Most of the time, without trying to present any kind of argument," Peskov said.

A Russian diplomat said the drones shot down by Poland in Polish airspace overnight came from Ukraine, Russian state news agency RIA reported."We know one thing: these drones were flying from the Ukrainian region," said Russia's charge d'affaires in Warsaw, Andrei Ordash, after leaving the Polish Foreign Ministry in Warsaw.

"Our planes could be heard and seen"

In the village of Wyryki, where a Russian drone hit, people"heard noises all night," said Bernard Baszczuk, the mayor of the village."We are all fine. No one was hurt," he added."Our planes could be heard and seen. There were whistling sounds, so I assume they were probably drones," Baszczuk said.

In response to the airstrike, Poland has invoked NATO's Article 4, which states that"Allies shall consult each other whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened." This does not automatically imply military action (as Article 5 does), but rather urgent consultations.

This morning, Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte indicated that such a meeting had already taken place. The violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones was"absolutely reckless," Rutte said, adding that a full assessment of the incident had yet to be conducted."Whether intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous. But the full assessment is underway," Rutte said.

From Belarus, its Ministry of Defense has stated that they warned Lithuania and Poland of the entry of these drones after being affected by electronic warfare, although these countries have not confirmed this. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense stated that it warned Poland about drones that violated its airspace last night. The country's Chief of Staff, Pavel Muraveyko, believes that the drones were"diverted" due to the action of electronic warfare systems.

According to a statement published on the Ministry of Defense's Telegram channel, several drones that flew over Belarus were destroyed by the national air defense system. The statement stated that"Belarus will continue to fulfill its obligations within the framework of the exchange of information on the air situation" with Poland and the Baltic countries.

The attack comes two days before the start of the major Zapad 2025 military exercise in neighboring Belarus. Due to the presence of Russian troops near its border, Poland has sealed off the entire line to prevent such incursions.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stated:"We are witnessing the most serious violation of European airspace by Russia since the beginning of the war, and there are indications that it was intentional, not accidental." Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her "full solidarity with Poland."

French President Emmanuel Manuel reacted by saying that the invasion of airspace was an "unacceptable" act.

Defenses on trial

Some military analysts claim that Russia is testing NATO's ability to respond to a coordinated drone attack against a member state. To what extent is this a deliberate attack or an effect of the electronic warfare deployed by Ukraine to confuse these drones in flight? The fact that it is a swarm of drones traveling in the same direction and the vast area covered could mean that the flight was intended as a deliberate provocation. This is the first time Poland has become so involved in the war against its neighbor. Warsaw has described the violation of its airspace as an act of aggression.

Warsaw's Chopin Airport, the country's largest, temporarily closed its airspace. The Polish government has urged people to stay home. The Podlaskie, Mazovian, and Lublin regions are most at risk. For another night, most of Ukraine, including the western Volyn and Lviv regions bordering Poland, were under air raid alert. Disruption and delays are expected at Warsaw Airport throughout the day, although the airspace there has now reopened.

"Moscow always pushes the limits of the possible, and if it doesn't get a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation. What happened today is a new level of escalation: Russian-Iranian Shahed-type drones operating in Polish airspace, in NATO airspace," Zelensky denounced after the incident."It wasn't just one shahed. At least eight attack drones were aimed at Poland," the Ukrainian president added.

Impunity

Ukraine's foreign minister has said that Russian drones flying toward Poland demonstrate Putin's impunity. Poland has been on alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile hit a village in southern Poland in 2022, killing two people. However, there have been no cases in which Polish or allied defense systems have destroyed drones.

Unfortunately, this matter is not just about rain but about wet, and Moscow has not rectified its strategy: in December 2023, a Russian drone violated Romanian airspace and crashed on its territory, prompting France and Romania to deploy fighter jets. In September 2023, another similar incident was confirmed by Romanian defense systems. In September 2024, a Russian reconnaissance drone crossed Latvian territory and crashed in the Rzekne region after crossing from Belarus.

These incidents come a day after Polish President Karol Nawrocki warned during a visit to Finland on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to invade other countries after Ukraine.

Poland is currently on guard against its Belarusian neighbor, Putin’s main ally in Europe, and that’s why Poland will close its border with Belarus on Thursday at midnight local time as a result of Russian-led military exercises taking place in Belarus. Lithuania said that defenses along its border with Belarus and Russia will be strengthened because of the exercises.