Poland shoots down Russian drones after airspace violation

Poland shot down drones that crossed into its territory during Russia’s latest massive air strike on neighboring Ukraine, calling it an “act of aggression.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the airspace violation in the early hours of Wednesday amounted to an intentional provocation from Moscow, forcing the NATO and European Union member state to close its airspace and order citizens in the eastern part of the country to stay indoors.

The government in Warsaw is seeking North Atlantic Treaty Organization consultations on a potential response, a procedure known as Article 4, the premier said. Polish authorities registered 19 airspace violations, with a “significant” number of drones originating from Belarusian territory, Tusk said.

“There is no reason to claim that we are currently at war,” Tusk told a session of parliament in Warsaw. “However, there is no doubt that this provocation exceeds previous limits and is incomparably more dangerous for Poland than all previous ones.”

Top European Union officials pledged solidarity with Poland, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech in Brussels. The E.U.’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called it Moscow’s gravest airspace violation since the war in Ukraine began — “and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”

The Polish zloty fell as much as 0.5% against the euro, the biggest daily drop since the end of July and worst performance among eastern European currencies on Wednesday. Warsaw’s WIG20 index dropped as much as 2.6% in early trading and the country’s dollar bonds also declined.

It’s the first time that a NATO member shot down military aircraft that strayed into its airspace since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The country has regularly scrambled its military jets during Moscow’s air strikes, which recently have grown more intense and deadly.

There were no causalities from the incursion, Tusk said, adding airports — including the main hub in Warsaw — were resuming operations. Debris from a drone hit a house in the village of Wyryki Wola in eastern Poland, less than 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Belarus, Polsat News reported. Efforts are underway to locate the sites where the drones crashed, according to the Polish military.

Russia launched about 415 drones of various types and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles against 15 Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Tusk said he briefed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the current situation and that they remain in constant contact. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the events.

NATO ambassadors will discuss the drone incursion in Poland during their previously planned meeting Wednesday. Russia’s temporary chargé d’affaires, Andrey Ordash, was summoned to Poland’s Foreign Ministry after the incursion, RIA Novosti reported, citing the diplomat.

The drone incursion prompted authorities to close the airspace over parts of the country, including over the main international airport in Warsaw. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a Notice to Airmen that the airport was impacted by “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security.”

Earlier, Poland’s military appealed to the nation’s citizens to stay at home during the operation. The eastern regions of Podlaskie, Masovia and Lublin that are close to Ukraine and Belarus were the “most endangered regions,” it said. The army is searching for debris from downed drones and said the incursion created a “real threat” for the citizens.

In Ukraine, air defenses operated in the central and western regions as well as the capital Kyiv, according to the country’s Air Defense and local authorities. Industrial targets were hit in the central city of Vinnytsya, according to local governor Nataliya Zabolotna.

Belarus’s Defense Ministry said its forces tracked drones that flew off course due to signals jamming and informed Polish and Lithuanian authorities, according to a statement on Telegram.

Poland is situated on NATO’s eastern flank bordering Belarus, a key ally of Russia, and war-torn Ukraine. The government in Warsaw has strongly supported Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. Last month, Poland’s defense minister accused Russia of staging a provocation after a military drone crashed and exploded in the eastern part of the country.

In November 2022, just months after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, a stray missile killed two people in a Polish village of Przewodow. That incident was later attributed to Ukrainian forces trying to shoot down scores of Russian rockets.

“It is clear that Russian aggression poses a danger to every independent nation in our region, and therefore only joint and coordinated action can guarantee reliable security,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Russia must feel that the response to this escalatory step, and even more so to an attempt to humiliate one of Europe’s key countries, will be clear and strong from all partners.”

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—With assistance from Danny Lee, Aradhana Aravindan, Kasia Klimasinska, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Michael Heath.