Poland says the country is closer to armed conflict than at any time since the Second World War after multiple Russian drones violated its airspace. Donald Trump has responded, amid widespread condemnation over the incursion – which Moscow claims was not intentional. Follow the latest.
Wednesday 10 September 2025 17:03, UK
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In his latest weekly Q&S, our military analyst Michael Clarke covered the two reasons behind Russia’s drone incursion into Poland – and what the response could be.
He also touched on the implications of Article 4, and why we should expect more of the same from NATO.
Meanwhile, there are some rumours of the Russians reaching out to Ukraine with a proposal. What’s that about? Clarke explains it for you.
Watch the full Q&A in the video below.
We’ve been receiving more details throughout the day about how European allies responded during the drone incursion.
Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said the country’s F-35s helped intercept Russian drones over Poland.
“Within the NATO framework, our F-35s make a significant contribution to the defence of our collective security,” he wrote on social media.
“This is precisely what we stand ready to do.”
Elsewhere, NATO Allied Command Operations said German Patriot air defence systems in Poland were also placed on alert, and an Italian airborne early warning aircraft was launched.
Italian defence sources have since confirmed that G-550 CAEW aircraft left from Estonia’s Amari base and participated in the operation.
Poland has no doubt that drones flying into its territory were not an accident, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters that the incident was an unprecedented attack on NATO and the European Union.
He added that Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk had asked for stronger air defences.
It comes after Russia’s ministry of defence said “no targets on the territory of Poland were planned for striking” (see 13.14 post).
Donald Trump has just given his first reaction to the drone incursion on his Truth Social account.
“What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” he wrote.
The meaning of the US president’s comment is unclear, although he may well chose to elaborate in some form later today.
It’s not the first we’ve heard on the matter from the US today, as Washington’s ambassador to NATO said the country would defend “every inch of NATO territory” (see 13.19 post).
Those comments would come as relief to Europe’s NATO member states, after Trump’s repeated remarks casting doubt on his commitment to the alliance.
Russian drones have been shot down over Poland for the first time.
“If that sounds serious, it’s because it is,” our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins has said.
She breaks down everything we know so far in the video below…
NATO fighter jets shot down several Russian drones last night after they entered Polish airspace.
Flight tracking shows Dutch and Polish refuelling planes flying before and during the incursion.
The Dutch defence ministry said their F-35 jets shot down “several Russian drones”.
The refuelling planes would have been supporting the F-35s allowing them to stay airborne for longer.
Data from Flightradar24 shows a Royal Netherlands Air Force plane en route to Poland before the Russian drone advanced into its airspace.
It’s circling alongside a Polish Air Force plane over Lublin, the district impacted by the overnight drone debris.
It was reported that at around 00.50 Kyiv time (01.50am local time), the first Russian drone was recorded crossing the Ukraine-Poland border.
The NATO Airbus A330 operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force left Eindhoven in the Netherlands at 21.45pm UTC (23.45 local time) heading towards Lublin in Poland. The flight arrived in the area around an hour later.
The A330 is used to provide air-to-air refuelling, strategic airlift, and medical evacuation capabilities.
The Dutch aircraft circled for three hours in Polish airspace before returning to the Netherlands at around 2.20am UTC.
The Polish Air Force had earlier deployed a plane from Deblin, Poland at around 7pm UTC (9pm local time), which circled the Lublin area until around 4.25am UTC (6.25am local time).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “Already during the night, Ukrainian forces were informing the Polish side through the relevant channels about the movement of Russian drones.”
Russia’s foreign ministry has hit back at what it describes as “myths” about drones deliberately crossing into Polish territory.
It deflected the blame towards Poland, accusing the country of spreading the claims “to further escalate the Ukrainian crisis”.
The foreign ministry also confirmed it is ready to join any potential discussions between Russia and Poland.
In an earlier statement, Russia’s defence ministry said “no targets on the territory of Poland were planned for striking” (see 13.14 post).
It added that the maximum flight range of the Russian UAVs used in the strike, which allegedly crossed the border with Poland, does not exceed 700km.
Donald Trump is following reports coming out of Poland after the drone incursion, a White House official has said.
Trump plans to speak to Poland’s president Karol Nawrocki today, they added.
It’s not the first we’ve heard out of the US today, as Washington’s ambassador to NATO said the country would defend “every inch of NATO territory” (see 13.19 post).
Continuing to speak in London, UK defence secretary John Healey says Russia’s response to the drone incursion comes as “no surprise”.
He criticises the Kremlin’s attempts to bat away blame (see our 13.14 post for more).
British jets were in Poland on a NATO policing mission only six weeks ago, Healey adds.
This mission included “an extra 200 personnel” to the 300 the UK has in Poland anyway.
“We will do what we can as part of NATO, as part of a collective response that Poland has asked for from us, its NATO allies,” Healey adds.
We know of at least four locations where drones or fragments of them fell in Poland, with at least one home damaged.
At least four of 19 drones were shot down by Poland and NATO allies.
In Czesniki, a town in the eastern Lublin region on the border with Ukraine, drone components were found in a field.
In the town of Wyryki Wola, in the same region, the remains of a drone damaged the roof of a house.
And further north in Czosnowka, fragments were also found and secured by the authorities.
A drone that appears to be a Chinese-designed Gerbera (see more on that in our 11.23 post) was found in Mniszkow, around 200 miles from the border.
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