Poland says it shot down Russian drones after airspace violation

At least three Russian drones were shot down by Polish and other Nato aircraft in Poland’s airspace during overnight attacks on Ukraine, the Polish prime minister has said.

Donald Tusk said Poland had recorded 19 drone incursions, with some flying deep enough to temporarily close four airports, including Warsaw’s main hub Chopin.

“This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two,” he said. This is the first time Russian drones have been downed over Nato territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia’s defence ministry said there had been “no plans” to target facilities on Polish soil.

“The maximum range of the Russian drones that allegedly crossed into Poland does not exceed 700km (435 miles)”, the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “ready” to hold consultations with the Polish defence ministry.

Russia’s temporary charge d’affaires in Poland said Warsaw had not provided evidence that the drones were of Russian origin.

Belarus, a close Russian ally, claimed the drones entered Polish airspace accidentally after their navigation systems were jammed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned this was “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight: “This is a moment when Nato allies, European civilisations, realise that the world is changed and that Russian aggression on Ukrainian territory is not just between Russia and Ukraine. This is part of global Russian strategy.”

US President Donald Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”

Addressing Polish lawmakers on Wednesday, Tusk said three – or perhaps four – drones were shot down overnight.

He said Polish authorities had no information suggesting anyone was injured or died “as a result of the Russian action”.

“The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation.

“I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it’s incomparably more dangerous than before.”

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka said on Wednesday evening that authorities had found 15 drones. Most had been located in the eastern Lublin region, bordering Belarus and Ukraine. Five had been discovered in central, western and southern Poland, much further from the borders, she added.

Tusk also said he had sought to invoke Article 4 of the Nato treaty, which formally starts urgent consultations within the 32-member alliance.

Poland is a member state of Nato – which ties the US and many European nations together on collective defence.

Both Tusk and Nawrocki said they were in “regular contact” with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who praised a “very successful reaction” by the alliance.

The Polish defence ministry told the BBC that the drones, “which could have posed a threat, were shot down pre-emptively”.

“Polish and Nato aircraft, including F-35, F-16, and MI-24, MI-17, and Black Hawk helicopters, were dispatched to the intended area of operation. Ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems were also placed on maximum alert.”

Poland’s military also thanked Nato’s Air Command and the Netherlands for deploying F-35 fighter jets.

The Russian drones that entered Poland were part of the latest major aerial attack on Ukraine, with Kyiv reporting that more than 400 drones and 42 missiles were launched.

Poland has recorded individual aerial incursions on several occasions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including one that killed two Polish farmers near the Ukrainian border in November 2022.

But the latest incident was one of a different magnitude, Justyna Gotkowska, deputy director for the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies, told the BBC – significant “because of the scale, several drones armed and unarmed.”

The drones were a “Russian provocation” designed to test Poland’s ability to react “in a very polarised political situation” and exploit existing divisions, she said.

But, “the reaction on the Polish side was united, civil, military and political, Polish-Nato co-ordination.”

Miroslaw Kaznowski – deputy mayor of MIlanówek, a town outside Warsaw – said he was pleased by the authorities’ reaction, but stressed that small towns like his urgently needed to do more to be able to protect themselves.

“We need to be prepared. This has all now gone higher on the agenda,” he told the BBC, adding that MIlanówek was now building a multi-functional fire station that would be used for crisis management.

Additional reporting by Thomas Mackintosh