- Poland, with NATO support, shot down several suspected Russian drones that entered its airspace early Wednesday.
- Russia denied responsibility, saying it carried out planned attacks on Ukrainian facilities, not Polish targets.
- NATO deployed Polish F-16 fighters, Dutch F-35 fighters and German Patriot air defense systems in response to the incursion.
Poland early Wednesday shot down a number of suspected Russian drones that were in its airspace, with the backing of military aircraft from NATO allies, marking the first time a member of the alliance has fired shots during Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke about the event to his country’s Parliament.
“I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed,” he said, according to The New York Times. “This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.”
Poland said there were 19 Russian drones that entered its airspace early Wednesday. After the drones were shot down with NATO assistance, leaders across Europe condemned the incident, per NBC News. The incursion was taken as the latest sign of escalation from the Kremlin.
Of the 19 recorded drones that entered Poland, Tusk said four of them were shot down.
The incidents also drew a response from President Donald Tump.
In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”
What did Russia say about the drone incursion?
According to Reuters, Moscow has denied responsibility for the incident. Russia’s defense ministry reported that its drones had carried out a major attack on Ukrainian military facilities but had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.
The ministry did say it was “ready to hold consultations with the Polish Ministry of Defense on this matter,” per NBC News.
Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, said there was no doubt that the incursion was intentional.
“In this case there were 19 breaches, and it simply defies imagination that it could be accidental,” he told reporters, per NBC News.
A spokesperson from the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said the “leadership of the EU and NATO” have been leveling accusations against Russia “on a daily basis” without any evidence, per The New York Times.
In a news conference, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Russia’s intentions were beside the point. “It is absolutely reckless. It is dangerous.”
According to The New York Times, Rutte also addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: “Stop the war in Ukraine. Stop the escalating war, which he is now basically mounting on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure. Stop violating allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Tusk said that a number of the drones flew in from Belarus, Russia’s neighbor and ally that has been used as a launching pad for attacks on Ukraine, per NBC News.
Belarus reported that the drones “lost their way” and that it also had to shoot some down over its own territory.
What was the NATO response?
Poland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual defense pact that was formed after World War II to deal with the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Because of this pact, an attack on one may be considered an attack on all, per NBC News.
The United States is also a member of NATO.
NATO air forces scrambled to confront the drones that had entered Polish airspace. This included Polish F-16 fighters, Dutch F-35 fighters, German Patriot air defense systems and an Italian AWACS surveillance aircraft, according to The New York Times.
Alexus Grynkewich, the U.S. Air Force general who serves as the top NATO commander, said the alliance had “responded quickly and decisively to the situation, demonstrating our capability and resolve to defend allied territory.”
A number of NATO leaders, including the leaders of France, Germany, Great Britain and Canada, condemned the Russian incursion in strong terms, per Reuters.
European leaders, who have been working to persuade Trump to join them in boosting support for Ukraine and tightening sanctions on Russia, said the incursion justified a collective response.
“We stand by our NATO Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Matthew Whittaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said in a post on X.
In recent days, Trump has stepped up pressure on European leaders, calling on them to stop buying Russian oil and to put 100% tariffs on China and India over their purchases of Russian oil.
Article 4 invoked
The drone incursion prompted the Polish government to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty. This allows Poland to bring the issue to the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s principal decision-making body, per The New York Times.
Since NATO’s founding in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” Tusk said, per NBC News. “The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.”
What do we know about the drones?
The Russian incursion caused Poland to close the airspace over at least three of its airports, per NBC News.
There was debris from drones found in several Polish cities. A spokesperson for the Polish interior ministry reported they had found seven drones and a fragment from “a projectile of unknown origin.”
No deaths or injuries have been reported in Poland.
This is not the first time Russia drones have crossed into Poland — it happened twice last week. But this time, it was on a larger scale, and the joint NATO response was a “startling reminder of the risk that the war in Ukraine could escalate into direct confrontation between Russia and NATO,” per The New York Times.
Poland and other NATO leaders have said they are waiting on the results of a military assessment before drawing conclusions about the incursion and deciding on a response. Some leaders have said it is unlikely so many Russian drones could have crossed the border accidentally.
“The wreckage of the downed drones is being analyzed, but there is a strong indication at this moment that these were not random incidents but planned action,” said Radoslaw Fogiel, deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Polish Parliament, per The New York Times.