Poland activated its own and NATO air defences on Wednesday morning to intercept and destroy multiple drones that entered its airspace, in what officials described as the most serious spillover of Russia’s war on Ukraine into NATO territory since the full-scale invasion began more than three years ago.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting of the council of ministers at 8am local time and said he was in constant contact with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation… We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios,” Tusk stated. He confirmed that Poland had repelled the attack, urged calm, but warned that military conflict was “closer than at any time since the Second World War”.
Tusk announced that Poland would invoke NATO’s Article 4, which allows member states to request formal consultations when their territorial integrity or security is threatened. Article 4 has been invoked only seven times since NATO’s founding in 1949, most recently in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Polish military reported that more than 10 aerial objects deemed a threat were neutralised in the early hours. At least three drones were shot down, with searches under way to locate crash sites. Tusk said there had been at least 19 violations of Polish airspace, some originating from Belarus. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof confirmed that F-35 fighter jets from the Netherlands participated in the interception mission.
Polish media reported that one drone struck a residential building in eastern Poland, though no casualties were immediately reported.
The incident came amid one of Russia’s largest overnight assaults on Ukraine in recent months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 415 drones and 40 missiles were launched, mostly targeting western regions. One person was killed in Zhytomyr region. Zelenskyy argued that the number of drones entering Polish airspace ruled out an accident and urged NATO to deliver a strong response.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha renewed calls for neighbouring countries to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukrainian territory, particularly in the west near NATO borders. So far, neighbouring states have declined, citing the risk of escalation. EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius proposed creating a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern flank in cooperation with frontier states and Ukraine.
The attack coincided with preparations for a major Russian-Belarusian military exercise, Zapad, scheduled for Friday. In response, Poland has closed all land borders with Belarus.
During the drone incursion, several airports were shut, including Warsaw’s Chopin Airport, the country’s largest, and three others, among them Rzeszów, a key logistics hub for arms transfers to Ukraine. Chopin Airport reopened at 7.30am, but flights faced delays and diversions, including an Air China service from Beijing rerouted to Copenhagen.
Poland has maintained heightened vigilance since a stray Ukrainian missile killed two people in 2022, but this marks the first confirmed destruction of drones by Polish or NATO forces. The strikes came a day after newly elected President Karol Nawrocki warned that Russia could target other countries.
US President Donald Trump, who entered office pledging to end the war swiftly, has so far failed to secure a ceasefire. A recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska produced no breakthrough, and Kyiv hopes Washington will intensify pressure on Moscow after repeated missed deadlines set by the White House.
