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12-09-2025
WARSAW: Polish and NATO forces have shot down drones violating the country’s airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighboring Ukraine.
Fighter jets were scrambled early on Wednesday as more than a dozen drones entered Polish airspace, the Polish military said. It is the first time that Polish and NATO forces have become engaged in the conflict. Ukraine said that Russia is testing the West.
“During today’s attack by the Russian Federation on targets in Ukraine, our airspace was repeatedly violated by drones,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said in a statement early on Wednesday.
“At the request of the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, weapons have been used and operations are under way to locate the downed targets,” the military said.
The army said Polish and NATO military aircraft had been mobilized to ensure airspace safety.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” the operational command said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that an “operation is under way related to multiple violations of Polish airspace”.
The operation to collect debris from the drones was underway on Wednesday morning.
A drone or similar object struck a residential building in Wyryki in eastern Poland but nobody was injured, the local mayor told state-run news channel TVP Info. Footage showed a house with a damaged roof and the rafters showing.
Police in the Lublin region said they found a damaged drone in the village of Czosnowka, while drone debris was also reported in the town of Czesniki.
Tusk confirmed that the drones originated from Russia. “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” the prime minister said.
In a regular briefing, the Kremlin’s spokesman declined comment.
“It is not within our competence, it is the prerogative of the ministry of defence,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
‘Testing the West’
The prime minister declared that he is in “constant contact” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. An emergency meeting of the Polish council of ministers was called for Wednesday morning.
“Aircraft have used weapons against hostile objects,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on social media, adding: “We are in constant contact with NATO command.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that the events show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s impunity and his expansion of the war, and that Moscow is testing the West’s willingness to respond to aggression.
“Putin just keeps escalating, expanding his war, and testing the West,” Andrii Sybiha said on social media.
“This situation shows that finally the decision needs to be taken to enable partner air defence capabilities in neighboring countries to be used to intercept drones and missiles in the Ukrainian airspace, including those approaching NATO borders.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said eight Russian drones had been “aimed toward” Poland, and called the episode “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for the EU to develop a “drone wall” along its eastern flank. (Int’l News Desk)
