NATO shoots down Russian drones in Polish airspace, accusing Moscow of being ‘absolutely reckless’

By Brad Lendon, Isaac Yee, Nina Subkhanberdina and Ivana Kottasová

NATO fighter jets shot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, as the military alliance denounced Moscow for "absolutely dangerous" behaviour that ratcheted up tensions to a new level.

The operation marked the first time that shots were fired by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine. Polish and Dutch jets intercepted the drones, with assistance from Italian, German and NATO's multinational forces, officials said.

Addressing the Polish parliament, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that while there was no reason to say that Poland was in a state of war, it was closer to a conflict than any time since World War II. He said the country was facing an "enemy that does not hide its hostile intentions."

Tusk also announced that Poland has invoked Article 4 of NATO, meaning the alliance's main political decision-making body will now meet to discuss the situation and its next steps.

Russia's defence ministry said in a statement that it had carried out a strike against Ukraine overnight. It said that "no targets on the territory of Poland were planned for destruction," and that the drones it used in Ukraine have a flight range of no more than 700 kilometres.

The Russian foreign ministry then said that these "specific facts completely debunk the myths repeatedly spread by Poland in order to escalate the Ukrainian crisis further".

NATO chief Mark Rutte said, however, that the violation of Poland's airspace was not an "isolated incident".

Asked by reporters whether the incursion was deliberate, he said that while a full assessment was ongoing, "whether it was intentionally or not, it is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous."

Rutte said the alliance's response was "very successful" and showed that NATO was able to - and would - defend "every inch" of its territory.

He added that the wider operations involved Polish F-16 and Dutch F-35 jets, an Italian early warning aircraft, German Patriot systems and a NATO refueling aircraft.

'Unprecedented violation'

Tusk said there were 19 intrusions of his country's airspace, and that a "large proportion" of the drones entered it from Belarus. He called the incident an "unprecedented violation of (its) airspace" and said it lasted all night - from just before midnight local time on Tuesday until 6.30am on Wednesday (local time).

Polish prosecutors said that at least some of the drones have been identified as Russian versions of the Iranian-designed Shahed, known as Gerbera.

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Lublin, one of the areas where the drones were found, said two Gerbera drones were found in two separate locations in the region, with dozens of parts of another one discovered in a third location. No explosives were found, they said.

On top of that, at least two styrofoam drones, and one unidentified object, were found in the region.

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski said that the sheer number of drones that entered Polish airspace makes it clear this was a deliberate act by Russia.

"When one or two drones does it, it is possible that it was a technical malfunction. In this case, there were 19 breaches and it simply defies imagination that that could be accidental," he said.

Speaking to the lawmakers, Tusk said that the one piece of "good news" was that nobody was injured.

Poland's interior ministry said seven drones and parts of one unidentified missile have been found. The locations where the debris was found span the area of hundreds of miles.

Ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka said that a residential building in the village of Wyryki, in eastern Poland, near the border with both Ukraine and Belarus was hit. The local prosecutor's office later said the family home was struck by an object that was still being identified.

Photographs from the scene geolocated by CNN show extensive damage to a family house there.

Allies react and a search for downed drones

NATO, the transatlantic defence pact involving the United States, employs the principle that an attack on one is an attack on all.

European faith in the reliability of that alliance has been shaken under US President Donald Trump who, alongside key cabinet members, has called on Europe to lead in its own defence.

The news of the airspace violation sparked a wave of solidarity - and further calls for stronger defence measures in Europe.

Trump reacted Wednesday with a degree of bemusement. "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones?" Trump asked in a brief post on Truth Social. "Here we go!"

The White House said that Trump was planning to speak with Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday. According to the US State Department, some 10,000 US troops are currently stationed in Poland.

Speaking after a pre-arranged meeting in London, defence ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy denounced the incident, calling it unacceptable provocation. The ministers, who represent Europe's biggest defense spenders, said they would support Poland.

They were joined by Poland's director of international security policy, Marcin Kazmierski, who stepped in for defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz after he cut short his visit to London to return to Poland.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius said the airspace violation was "deliberate and targeted provocation."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that "Russia's actions - following a week of brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians - underscore the importance of our steadfast support for Ukraine."

"(Russia President Vladimir) Putin is demonstrating once again his total disregard for the path of peace," Carney said.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the incident "the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began". Kallas said that the "indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental," adding that: "Russia's war is escalating, not ending."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident "another step of escalation" by Russia and called for a strong reaction from Kyiv's allies.

"The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must feel that the war cannot be expanded and will have to be ended," he said. Zelensky's own country endured a Russian attack involving 415 drones and 40 missiles overnight.

The incursion comes as Trump's attempts to strike a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have ground to a halt, with Moscow only scaling up its aerial assaults.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Putin is "testing the West."

"Russian drones flying into Poland during the massive attack on Ukraine show that Putin's sense of impunity keeps growing," Sybiha said in a post on X.

Edward Arnold, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, said the escalation was "a product of the intensification of Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian political, civilian and energy infrastructure over the past few months".

"The decision by the Kremlin to escalate is intertwined with the discussions between the Russians and US on a possible ceasefire and peace in Ukraine," Arnold added.

"Putin wants to demonstrate strength and likely test NATO resolve. However, he is also demonstrating that he has no interest in the war ending."

Earlier, authorities closed airspace over Warsaw International Airport and other smaller airports "due to unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security," according to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) posted on the US Federal Aviation Administration's website.

The Warsaw airport reopened Wednesday morning, Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said in a post on X.

Putin emboldened after China parade

The military activity over Poland comes less than a week after Putin was in China, where he met with leader Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in show of unity between the authoritarian allies.

Since then, Russia has staged its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine since it fully invaded its neighbour more than three years ago.

The recent attacks have largely targeted residential areas around the country and in the capital of Kyiv. On Tuesday, 24 civilians were killed in a Russian strike on the village of Yarova in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials said.

Last weekend, Russia deployed more than 800 drones in its largest attack to date, striking a government building in Kyiv for the first time.

The attack hit the Cabinet of Ministers building, which houses the prime minister's office, as well as some government ministries.

All these attacks have come less than a month after Putin's summit with Trump in Alaska that ended without a deal to end the war. Any progress made has long since evaporated with Russia's expanded aerial attacks.

Poland earlier announced it was closing its eastern border with Russian ally Belarus, due to joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises beginning Friday, Reuters reported.

The Zapad 25 large-scale exercises, which will take place in western Russia and Belarus, have raised security concerns not only in Poland but also in the neighbouring NATO countries on Lithuania and Latvia, according to Reuters.

"On Friday, Russian-Belarusian manoeuvres, very aggressive from a military doctrine perspective, begin in Belarus, very close to the Polish border," Prime Minister Tusk told a government meeting, Reuters reported.

- CNN