NATO fighter jets fired down several Russian drones that violated Polish airspace during attacks on nearby Ukraine early Wednesday.
The operation marked the first time a shot was fired by NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine. Polish and Dutch jets intercepted the drones with the support of Italian, German and NATO multinational forces, officials said.
Poland’s Home Ministry said later on Wednesday that a total of 16 drones were found nationwide.
Speaking to the Polish Parliament, Prime Minister Donald Tass said there is no reason to say Poland is at war, but he was closer to conflict than any point since World War II. He said the country faces “an enemy that does not hide its hostile intentions.”
Tusk also announced that Poland has called on Article 4 of NATO. This means that the alliance’s major political decision-making bodies will now meet to discuss the situation and its next steps.
On Thursday, the Polish forces announced restrictions on air traffic in the country’s eastern areas until December 9th.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had struck Ukraine overnight on Wednesday. “The targets on Polish territory are not planned for destruction,” he said, and said the drones used in Ukraine had a flight range of less than 700 kilometers (435 miles).
“The Russian Foreign Ministry has since repeatedly denied the myth by Poland in order to further escalate the Ukraine crisis.”
However, NATO chief Mark Latte said the Polish airspace violation was not an “isolated incident.”
When asked by a reporter whether the invasion was intentional, he said, “Whether intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous.”
Latte said the alliance’s response was “very successful,” indicating that NATO could and would defend “every inch” of its territory.
He added that the wider operations include Polish F-16 and Dutch F-35 jets, Italian early warning aircraft, German Patriot System and NATO refueling aircraft.
Task said Wednesday that there had been 19 invasions in its country’s airspace, and a “large proportion” of drones came from Belarus. He called the incident “an unprecedented violation of (that) airspace,” and said it lasted all night from late at night Tuesday until 6:30am on Wednesday.
Polish prosecutors said at least some of the drones have been identified as Russian versions of Iranian-designed Shahed, known as the Gerbera.
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, one of the areas where the drone was discovered, said two gerbera drones were found at two separate locations in the area, with some of the other locations found at the third location. No explosives were found, they said.
Moreover, at least two styrofoam drones and one unidentified object were found in the area.
Poland’s deputy prime minister, Radslaw Sikorsky, said the enormous number of drones entering Polish airspace have made clear that Russia was deliberately committed.
“If one or two drones do it, it could be a technical malfunction. In this case, there are 19 violations and just deny the imagination that could be a coincidence,” he said.
Speaking to lawmakers, Task said one of the “good news” was that no one was injured.
Poland’s Home Ministry said seven drones and some of the unidentified missiles have been found. The debris were found covering hundreds of miles.
Ministry spokesman Karolina Gauika said a residential building in Wairiki village in eastern Poland, near the border with both Ukraine and Belarus, was attacked. The local prosecutor’s office later said the family home had been struck by an object that was still identified.
Photos of the scene geolocated by CNN are causing great damage to the family home there.
Allies responded and searched down drone
NATO, the Trans-Atlantic Defense Agreement, including the United States, adopts the principle that an attack on one is all attacks.
European faith in the credibility of that alliance has been shaken up under President Donald Trump, who, along with key cabinet members, called on Europe to lead its own defense.
News of airspace violations have sparked a wave of solidarity and calls for stronger defence measures in Europe.
Trump responded with some degree of lament on Wednesday. “What about Russia violating Polish airspace with drones?” Trump asked in a short post about the True Society. “Now let’s go!”
Polish President Karol Naulocky confirmed he spoke to Trump on Wednesday on X. According to the US State Department, there are currently around 10,000 US troops stationed in Poland.
After a pre-determined meeting in London, the defense ministers from the UK, France, Germany and Italy condemned the incident and called it an unacceptable provocation. The minister, representing Europe’s biggest defence spender, said he would support Poland.
Marsin Kazmielki, Poland’s director of international security policy, has joined us. He intervened with the Minister of Defense Wwadis Wow Kosiniak Kamisi after a brief visit to London and returning to Poland.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the airspace violation was “intentional, targeted provocation.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said “Russian actions – following a week of brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians, it underscores the importance of our steady support for Ukraine.”
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin once again shows that he is completely ignoring the path of peace,” Carney said.
Kaja Karas, head of foreign policy for the European Union, called the incident “the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the start of the war.” “The signs suggest that it is intentional rather than coincidence,” Karas said, adding that “Russian wars have escalated and not over.”
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky called the incident a “another escalation” by Russia and called for a strong response from Kiev’s allies.
“The Russians have to feel the consequences. Russia has to feel that they cannot expand the war and must end,” he said. Zelensky’s own country withstanded a Russian attack overnight, including 415 drones and 40 missiles.
The invasion is because Trump’s attempts to attack the peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have stopped, and Moscow only expands its air attack.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andri Sibikha said Putin is “testing the West.”
“The Russian drones flying over Poland during a massive attack on Ukraine show that Putin’s sense of immunity continues to grow,” Sibikha said in a post in X.
Edward Arnold, a senior researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, said the escalation was “a product of strengthening Russian drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian politics, civilian and energy infrastructure over the past few months.”
“The Kremlin’s decision to escalate is intertwined with the debate between the Russians and us about Ukraine’s ceasefire and peace,” added Arnold.
“Putin hopes he will show strength and test NATO’s resolve, but he also demonstrates that he has no interest in the end of the war.”
Previously, authorities closed Warsaw International Airport and other small airports “for unplanned military activities related to ensuring national security,” according to a notice to the airline (NOTAM) posted on the Federal Aviation Administration website.
Warsaw airport reopened Wednesday morning, Mayor Rafal Truzaskowski said in a post in X.
Military activities in Poland arrive less than a week after Putin was in China. He met with leader Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong on a show of unity among authoritarian allies.
Since then, Russia has held its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine since it was completely invaded by its neighbors over three years ago.
Recent attacks have primarily targeted residential areas across the country and in the Kiev capital. Ukrainian officials said 24 civilians were killed on Tuesday in a Russian strike in Yaroba village in the eastern Donetsk region.
Last weekend, Russia deployed more than 800 drones in its biggest attack to date, attacking Kiev’s government building for the first time.
The attack was hit by ministers in a ministerial building that houses the prime minister’s office and several government ministries.
All of these attacks came less than a month after Putin’s summit with Alaska Trump, which ended without a deal to end the war. All progress has been ongoing for a long time since it evaporated in Russia’s expanded air attacks.
Poland has previously announced that it will close its eastern border with Belarus, a Russian alliance, through joint Russian-Belarus military exercises starting Friday, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the large-scale Zapad 25 exercises in western Russia and western Belarus have sparked security concerns not only in Poland, but also in NATO countries in Lithuania and Latvia.
“On Friday, Russia’s Belarus operations have been very aggressive in terms of military doctrine, beginning in Belarus and very close to the Polish border,” Chase told the government meeting.
“Therefore, for national security reasons, we will close the border with Belarus, including the railway crossing, in connection with the midnight Zapad operation on Thursday,” Tass said.
CNN’s Chris Lau, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Victoria Butenko, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Darya Tarasova, Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, Kit Maher, Kevin Liptak, Antonia Mortensen and Lauren Kent contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments. Previous versions of this story state the false location of Rzeszow, a town in eastern Poland.
