Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones Violating Its Airspace

Poland's military said it shot down intruding Russian drones after the NATO member and allies scrambled aircraft early on Wednesday in response to what it called an "unprecedented" violation of its airspace as Russian forces attacked in nearby western Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country's airspace was "violated by a huge number of Russian drones" and those that "posed a direct threat were shot down," adding that he is in "constant contact" with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Poland has frequently scrambled jets in response to waves of Russian aerial attacks on its neighbor, Ukraine, throughout the war launched more than 3 1/2 years ago.

NATO members are collectively obliged to respond to attacks on other alliance nations under Article 5 of the founding treaty. Russian drones and missiles entering NATO airspace have not been treated as attacks on the alliance.

Russia has hammered Ukraine with missile and drone attacks despite U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a ceasefire deal, and the Republican's pointed criticism of Moscow targeting Ukrainian cities.

The operational command of the Polish armed forces said in a post on X that "defensive procedures were immediately initiated" after Polish airspace was repeatedly violated "by drone-type objects" as Russian forces attacked in western Ukraine.

"As a result of today's attack by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory, an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drones occurred. This is an act of aggression that poses a real threat to the safety of our citizens," the Polish command said.

"Polish and allied assets monitored several objects by radar, and considering those that might pose a threat, the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces decided to neutralize them," it said, adding: "Some of the drones that intruded into our airspace were shot down. Searches and location of the possible crash sites of these objects are ongoing."

The Polish military was monitoring the situation and "Polish and allied forces and assets remain on full alert."

Warsaw's Chopin Airport warned passengers on its website that flight operations were on hold due to closure of the airspace over part of the country "due to government and military security measures."

"The airport remains open, but there are currently no flight operations," it said.

Most of Ukraine, including western regions of Volyn and Lviv that border Poland, were under air raid alerts for several hours early Wednesday—according to Ukraine's air force—which earlier reported that Russian drones had entered Poland's airspace, threatening the city of Zamosc, Reuters reported.

Ukrainian media also reported that several Russian drones had crossed into Poland's air space.