Poland announced that it scrambled its own and NATO air defenses to shoot down drones on Wednesday following a Russian air attack on western Ukraine. This marks the first instance in the Ukraine war where Warsaw has engaged assets within its airspace.
Poland’s military command stated that Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by “drone-type objects” during the Russian attack across the border in Ukraine.
“An operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing these objects… weapons have been used, and service personnel are carrying out actions to locate the downed objects,” the statement said.
The military operation is ongoing, and authorities urged people to stay at home, identifying the regions of Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin as most at risk.
“The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is monitoring the situation, and subordinate forces and units remain on full readiness for immediate response,” it added.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, Poland also closed four airports including its main Chopin Airport in Warsaw. However, there was no official confirmation from Polish authorities regarding the closure of any airports.
The Rzeszow–Jasionka Airport in Poland’s southeast, a hub for passenger and arms transfers to Ukraine, was among the airports temporarily closed, the FAA reported.
Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been briefed on reports of Russian drones over Poland, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins stated on Tuesday. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian drones had entered NATO-member Poland’s airspace, posing a threat to the city of Zamosc, but later removed that statement from the Telegram messaging app.
In the United States, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin commented that repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones indicate “Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”
“After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” he stated on X.
Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people, a few months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, there have been no reports of Polish or allied defense systems destroying drones.
As of 0245 GMT, all of Ukraine, including the western regions of Volyn and Lviv bordering Poland, had been under air raid alerts for several hours, according to Ukraine’s air force.
