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Poland said a number of Russian drones entered its airspace during an attack on Ukraine early Wednesday and were shot down with the help of NATO allies, a first since Moscow’s full -scale invasion of its neighbor.
Leaders across Europe condemned the incident as the latest sign of escalation from the Kremlin, which has rebuffed President Donald Trump’s bid to broker peace talks.
Russia labeled the accusations “groundless.”
“Russia is absolutely not interested in any escalation with Poland,” and “no evidence” had been presented that the drones were of Russian origin, Andrei Ordash, Moscow’s charge d’affaires in the Polish capital Warsaw, told state news agency RIA.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country was dealing with “a large-scale provocation,” and that his military recorded 19 drone incursions overnight, four of which he said were shot down.
Tusk added that a significant number of the drones flew in from Belarus, an authoritarian ally of Russia used as a launching pad for attacks on Ukraine.
“The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios,” he said.
Belarus claimed the drones had “lost their way” and that it had also shot some down over its territory.
The Polish military’s operational command called the strikes an “act of aggression,” and urged residents to stay at home, with three eastern regions at particular risk. It later thanked NATO air command and the Dutch air force who it said scrambled F-35 fighter jets.
Tusk said he had activated article four of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies, and that he was in touch with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
NATO confirmed its assets were engaged.
“Numerous drones entered Polish airspace overnight and were met with Polish and NATO air defenses,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said on X.
This is the first time NATO assets have directly engaged with Russian targets since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. It’s the latest escalation in Moscow’s aerial bombardment of Ukraine, in defiance of the peace deal that President Donald Trump has tried to broker with Kyiv.
“The security of our Homeland is the highest priority,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on X.
Increasing evidence, including the direction of travel, indicated this “was no accident,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
The strikes had set an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe,” he said in separate post.
The E.U. called it the “most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began.”
“Indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental,” European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
The Russian incursion resulted in the closure of airspace over at least three airports in Poland, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. This included Warsaw’s Chopin airport and the Rzeszów–Jasionka airport, a logistical hub for military and passenger transfers to Ukraine.
Chopin airport later said on X that airspace had been reopened.
Poland and the U.S. are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which at its core is a mutual defense pact, meaning an attack on one may be considered an attack on all.
Sweden and Norway pledged their full support to Poland, with the latter’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, calling the incident “deeply concerning and entirely unacceptable.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighboring Poland has remained on high alert, especially after a stray Ukrainian missile struck a Polish village just a few months into the war in 2022 and killed two people there. Stray Russian missiles have also briefly entered Polish airspace on at least two occasions.
In the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN he had been briefed on reports of Russian drones over Poland as he left a dinner with Trump.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the NATO airspace violation was a sign that “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 said on X.
The Ukrainian air force issued warnings of dozens of Russian drones and missiles attacking its own territory early Wednesday.
Ukraine had shot down 415 drones and over 40 missiles since Tuesday evening, the air force said. Zelenskyy said one person had been killed and three more injured in the strikes.
Mithil Aggarwal is a Hong Kong-based reporter/producer for NBC News.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.
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