Poland downs Russian drones in its airspace
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WARSAW: Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its Nato allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two”, though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and Nato mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.
One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski’s two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6:30am while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.
US, EU and Nato leaders hold talks after ‘incursion’
The roof was destroyed and debris was strewn across the bedroom. Wesolowski told Reuters the house “needs to be demolished”. A blackened spot in a field elsewhere in southeastern Poland showed where some other drones had fallen.
Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.
“Whats with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” Trump posted on Truth Social, without elaborating. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Canada were among Nato leaders to condemn the Russian incursion in strong terms.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for more sanctions on Russia, and said the EU was preparing sanctions on “shadow fleet” tankers that transport its oil and third countries that buy it. Trump, who warmly welcomed Putin in Alaska at a summit in August, said over the weekend he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia after months of talks about a peace deal.
European leaders, who have been trying to persuade Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response.
Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those posing a threat.
Tusk called the incident a “large-scale provocation” and said he had activated Article Four of Nato’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.
Neither Poland nor Nato has yet given a full account of what they suspect the drones were doing. One senior military source said that at least five of the drones’ flight paths indicated they were headed towards Rzeszow airport, Nato’s main hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.
Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2025
