Poland said Wednesday, September 10, that its armed forces for the first time opened fire on hostile drones that violated the country’s airspace during Russian strikes on western Ukraine. According to the Polish military command, more than a dozen objects were detected, some of which posed a threat and were “neutralized.”
“Some of the drones that entered our airspace were shot down. Searches and efforts to identify possible crash sites are under way,” the command said in a statement. The agency stressed the operation is ongoing and urged residents of the Podlaskie, Masovian and Lublin provinces to stay home.
Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Polish jets “used weapons against hostile objects.” “We are in constant contact with NATO command,” he added on X.
The Polish army called the incident “an act of aggression.” Due to the military activity, the country’s largest airport in Warsaw and three other airports were closed, including Rzeszow-Jasionka, which plays a key role in deliveries of aid to Ukraine.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that airspace over several Polish airports was temporarily closed. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military earlier said Russian drones had threatened the Polish city of Zamosc, but soon deleted the post from Telegram. All of Ukraine was under an air-raid alert overnight into Wednesday.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is holding meetings with ministers responsible for national security. An extraordinary cabinet meeting is set for 8 a.m. local time (9 a.m. Moscow time), the government’s spokesman said.
Repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russia mean President Vladimir Putin “is testing our resolve to defend Poland and the Baltic states,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said in Washington.
Republican Joe Wilson called Russia’s actions “an attack on a NATO ally” and “an act of war.” He urged U.S. President Donald Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine.”
Trump, who recently hosted Putin at a summit in the United States, said over the weekend he is ready to move to a “second phase” of sanctions against Moscow and its oil buyers. It was the toughest signal yet of a potential escalation of pressure on Russia since the start of his new term.
Former U.S. Army Europe commander Ben Hodges said numerous incursions by Russian drones into NATO airspace “are clearly deliberate tests of defenses and early-warning systems.” “We must respond effectively every time. We definitely could be doing more,” he said.
Poland has been on heightened alert since 2022, when a Ukrainian missile accidentally struck a Polish village, killing two people. But this is the first time Warsaw has officially reported using weapons against aerial objects on its territory.
