Polish and NATO forces scrambled to intercept Russian drones which entered Poland’s airspace early on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday, marking their first direct military engagement with Moscow since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Both Polish and NATO jets responded to the violation of Polish airspace, which occurred during a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine. “There was an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects,” the Polish military operational command said in a statement. “This is an act of aggression that poses a real threat to the safety of our citizens.”
…What has happened in Poland?
On Wednesday morning, the Polish military said it had shot down “drone-like objects” which entered its airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
According to Polish officials, the drones crossed the border amid a wave of Russian aerial strikes targeting western Ukraine, triggering an immediate military response, which was joined by Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35, and Italian AWACS surveillance planes.
One of the drones struck a residential building in Wyryki, eastern Poland. Nobody was injured, according to the Reuters news agency.
This is the first time that NATO-allied forces have engaged Russian military assets since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Russia’s violation of Polish airspace by a “huge” number of Russian drones a “large-scale provocation”. He added that the NATO forces had shot down the ones that posed any threat.
Later in the day, Tusk informed Poland’s parliament that the first violation of Polish airspace occurred at about 11:30pm (21:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and the last was reported at 6:30am (04:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
He added that preliminary reports suggest 19 airspace violations, with a “significant number” of drones crossing into Poland.
“We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios,” Tusk said.
“All our allies are taking the situation very seriously. We have not recorded any casualties.”
Tusk also convened an emergency meeting with his top cabinet ministers and stated that his office was in contact with NATO officials.
The incident has thrust NATO’s collective defence principles into the spotlight. Being a NATO member, a drone attack on Poland could trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
That article forms the cornerstone of the alliance’s collective defence strategy. It states that an “armed attack” against one or more members in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all, obligating allies to take action, including using armed force, to restore security.
Article 5 is not triggered automatically by such an attack, but can be initiated by an affected nation. It requires a consensus among NATO’s 30 member states that the incident meets the threshold of an attack warranting collective action.
Since the treaty was first signed in 1949, Article 5 has been invoked only once, following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
…Will Poland initiate Article 5?
Not quite yet. Tusk said Poland will invoke Article 4 of the treaty, under which a nation can request a formal consultation within the alliance if it believes its security has been threatened. This would serve as a political precursor to Article 5 deliberations.
Historically, Article 4 has been invoked only seven times since NATO’s creation; the last time was by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in 2022, immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While Tusk said he appreciates expressions of solidarity, “the words are not enough,” Poland will request “much greater” support from its allies.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, said the incident marked an escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We must raise the cost on Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine, and invest in Europe’s defence,” she said in a statement posted on X. “The EU plays a major role, and we will support initiatives like the eastern border shield defence line.”
Kallas said the EU stood in “full solidarity with Poland” and called the Russian drone intrusion “the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental”.
EU’s defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, also emphasised the need for a “drone wall” along its shared borders. “Once again Russia tests frontier states, EU & NATO,” Kubilius wrote in a post on X. “We shall work together with member states, frontier countries and Ukraine. Russia will be stopped.”
