Poland imposes air traffic restrictions along eastern border

Agnieszka Barteczko, Bloomberg News on Sep 11, 2025

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Poland imposed air-traffic restrictions along its eastern border after Russian drones crossed into its territory and as authorities prepare for a vast military exercise in neighboring Belarus.

The restrictions will be in force until Dec. 9 at the request of the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces “to ensure state security.”

“From sunset to sunrise, there is a total ban on flights” in the border area, with the exception of military aircraft, Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency said on Thursday.

The ban takes place after Poland shot down drones that crossed into its territory on Wednesday, with a significant number of originating in Belarus. It also coincides with the Zapad military exercise, which Belarus and Russia will begin on Friday.

“This attack was planned and deliberately carried out before the Zapad exercises,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki told public television. The government in Warsaw also plans to close the border with Belarus.

Polish authorities have asked North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to assess how they can contribute to boosting security on the military alliance’s eastern flank.

“The priority at the moment is anti-aircraft and anti-missile capabilities,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told radio RMF. “This is a necessary lesson from war, which we as an alliance are learning too slowly.”

“A new way of waging war is to attack with a swarm of drones,” he added.

Dutch F-35 fighter jets played a crucial role in shooting down the drones on Wednesday, according to Chief of the General Staff Wieslaw Kukula. “It was a game changer,” he told TVN24 broadcaster.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he “hoped that the U.S. will fulfill their commitment” and send the first F-35 jets to Poland in May.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke by phone with Donald Trump after the incursion on Wednesday. The talks “confirmed the unity of the alliance,” Nawrocki said in a social media post.

“What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” Trump said earlier in the day in a Truth Social post, without elaborating.

Bosacki, the deputy foreign minister, said he would have preferred the U.S. reaction to be “clearer and more explicit.”

—With assistance from Konrad Krasuski.