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Poland shoots down drones over its territory amid Russian attack on Ukraine Poland shoots down drones over its territory amid Russian attack on Ukraine
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Tusk says operation was launched after ‘repeated violations of Polish airspace’Donald Tusk says operation was launched after ‘repeated violations of Polish airspace’
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Poland scrambled its own and Nato air defences to shoot down drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday during a Russian attack on Ukraine in what the Polish army called an “act of aggression” as Warsaw got involved in the war in its neighbouring country for the first time. Poland scrambled its own and Nato air defences to shoot down several drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday morning, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine spread to Nato territory in the most significant way since the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said early on Thursday that operations were continuing and that he was in “constant contact” with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. Tusk called for an emergency meeting of the council of ministers at 8am local time, a government spokesman said. Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, convened an emergency meeting of the council of ministers at 8am local time, and said he was in “constant contact” with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte.
“An operation is under way related to the repeated violation of Polish airspace,” Tusk posted early on Wednesday. “The military has used weaponry against the objects.” “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,” said Tusk on Wednesday morning. He also said Poland had successfully repelled the attack and insisted that “there is no reason to panic”.
Poland’s military command also said drones repeatedly violated Polish airspace during the Russian attack in western Ukraine. Poland’s military command said more than 10 objects and those that could pose a threat were “neutralised” in the early hours of Wednesday. “Some of the drones that entered our airspace were shot down. Searches and efforts to locate the potential crash sites of these objects are ongoing,” it added.
Radars tracked more than 10 objects and those that could pose a threat were “neutralised”, the command said. Polish media said that one of the drones had struck a residential building in eastern Poland, however there were no immediate reports of casualties from the attack.
“Some of the drones that entered our airspace were shot down. Searches and efforts to locate the potential crash sites of these objects are ongoing.” Russia launches almost nightly attacks on Ukraine using large, kamikaze drones based on an Iranian design and known informally as “Shaheds”. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Wednesday morning that 415 drones and 40 missiles had been used in the overnight attack, much of which targeted western parts of the country. One person was killed in Zhytomyr region.
Chopin airport in Warsaw, the country’s largest, announced its airspace was closed due to military action, while guidance published by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed three others were also shut due to “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security”. Among them were a smaller port in the eastern city of Lublin, and a key logistics and arms transfer hub in the south-eastern city of Rzeszów. Zelenskyy said the number of drones that entered Polish airspace meant it could not have been an accident, and called on Nato countries to launch a strong response.
Most of Ukraine – including western regions of Volyn and Lviv, which border Poland – was under air raid alerts nearly all night, according to Ukraine’s air force. “Moscow is always testing the limits of the possible, and if it does not meet a strong reaction, moves to a new level of escalation,” wrote Zelenskyy in a post on social media. “Today was another escalatory step … Not one ‘Shahed’, which could have been called an accident, but at least eight attack drones which targeted Poland.”
In the US, the Democratic senator Dick Durbin said the repeated violations were a sign that “Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations”. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, called on neighbouring countries to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukrainian airspace, especially in the western regions of the country close to the border with Nato nations. “Ukraine has suggested such step for a long time. It needs to be taken for the sake of collective security,” he said.
“After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” Durbin posted online. Up to now Ukraine’s neighbours have declined to do so, fearing the escalatory potential of directly engaging with Russian missiles and drones.
The incursions came a day after Poland’s newly elected nationalist president warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was ready to invade more countries after launching his war in Ukraine. Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s defence commissioner, said the bloc must develop a “drone wall” along its eastern flank to prevent such attacks. “We shall work together with member states, frontier countries and Ukraine. Russia will be stopped,” he wrote on X.
“We do not trust Vladimir Putin’s good intentions,” Nawrocki told reporters on Tuesday at a press conference in Helsinki. On Friday, Russia and Belarus on Friday will hold a major military drill known as Zapad, which has raised security concerns in the region and led to Poland closing all its land borders with Belarus.
After Donald Trump warmly welcomed Putin to Alaska for a summit in August, the US president said over the weekend that he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia after months of fruitless talks about a peace deal. During the drone attack, the Polish authorities closed several airports, including Chopin airport in Warsaw, the country’s largest. Three other airports were also closed due to “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security”, including the key logistics and arms transfer hub in the south-eastern city of Rzeszów.
It was his strongest indication yet that he may escalate pressure on Moscow or its oil buyers in response to the war in Ukraine. Chopin airport reopened about 7.30am local time, but early morning departures were delayed for several hours and a number of arriving flights were diverted to other Polish airports. An Air China plane from Beijing due to land at Chopin was sent instead to Copenhagen, Polish media reported.
Poland has been on alert for craft entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people, a few months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But until Wednesday there had been no previous reports of Polish or allied defence systems destroying drones. Poland has been on alert for craft entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people. However there had previously been no reports of Polish or other Nato defence forces destroying drones.
The incident comes shortly before Russia and Belarus on Friday begin military drills that have raised security concerns in the region. The drone strikes took place a day after Poland’s newly elected nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, claimed that Russia was poised to invade more countries. “We do not trust Vladimir Putin’s good intentions,” he told reporters on Tuesday at a press conference in Helsinki.
On Tuesday, Poland said it would close its border with Belarus due to the “very aggressive” exercises, called Zapad, as well as the growing number of provocations from Russian and Belarus. Neighbouring Lithuania declared it would step up its border controls. Donald Trump came into office promising a swift end to the war, but has proved unable to persuade Putin into agreeing a ceasefire. A summit with Putin in Alaska last month yielded little result and Kyiv hopes Trump will now step up pressure on Moscow after a series of deadlines set by the White House for Russia were ignored.
With Reuters