JUST IN: NATO Scrambles Jets to Shoot Down Russian Drones Crossing Into Poland in ‘Unprecedented Violation’
(Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via AP)
Poland scrambled its defenses overnight and shut down four airports after nearly 20 Russian drones crossed the border in what it described as an “unprecedented violation” of its airspace.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed “19 intrusions” into Polish airspace, many from Belarus, and said four drones were likely shot down, the last one struck at 6.45 a.m. local time Wednesday.
The operation involved Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO-operated refueling aircraft.
“This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens,” the Polish military command said, warning residents in three eastern provinces to stay indoors as operations continued.
For the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO planes engaged potential hostile targets in allied skies, according to a NATO spokesperson.
Tusk announced he will invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which compels member states to consult when territorial security is threatened.
While the move stops short of triggering collective defense under Article 5, it underlines the seriousness of the incursion.
“Poland is in a situation closest to armed conflict since the Second World War,” the prime minister said, though he stressed there was no indication the country was formally at war.
The country’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Warsaw remains “in constant contact with NATO command.”
NATO, however, is not classifying the overnight drone incursion into Polish territory as an attack, a source told Reuters, though initial reports indicated six to 10 Russian drones deliberately crossed the border.
The source confirmed it was “the first time NATO aircraft have engaged potential threats [in] allied airspace,” noting that while Patriot air defence systems tracked the drones, they did not fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to X to warn there was “increasing evidence” that the drone incursion “was no accident.”
The crisis comes as Russian strikes once again targeted the city of Lviv, located just across the border in Ukraine.
The incursions place new pressure on the alliance, just as President Donald Trump signaled plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “this week or early next week” as part of his plan to secure a peace deal that would end the war in Ukraine.
