NATO Aircraft Engage Russian Drones Over Poland in Major Escalation
NATO fighter jets shot down multiple Russian drones over Poland early Wednesday, marking the first use of force by alliance aircraft to defend its airspace since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Poland’s military, which described the drone incursion as an “act of aggression”, reported 19 airspace violations over seven hours during a Russian aerial assault on Ukraine. The exact number of drones shot down remains unclear.
Poland said its air force was supported by allies from the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany during the operation. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the mission involved Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, an Italian AWACS, a NATO multi-role tanker transport, and German Patriot systems.
“A full assessment of the incident is ongoing. What is clear is that the violation last night is not an isolated incident,” Rutte said in a statement.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Poland’s initial assessment is that Russia intentionally directed the drones into Polish territory. “Our assessment is that they did not veer off course but were deliberately targeted,” he said.
“Poland, the EU, and NATO will not be intimidated, and we will continue to stand by the brave people of Ukraine,” Sikorski added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called the attack deliberate, writing on X: “Since 1 am, our military has tracked the movement of Russian drones toward the Polish border.”
“This was not an accident or a mistake, it was deliberate. Russia used both Ukrainian and Belarusian territory to enter Polish airspace,” the Ukrainian president added.
Meanwhile, Russia dismissed the accusations as “groundless”, claiming its strike targeted Ukrainian infrastructure and did not include Polish territory.
The airspace breach came a week after Polish President Karol Nawrocki met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss security cooperation and NATO’s response to Russian aggression.
The last time a NATO member shot down a foreign aircraft for violating its airspace was in November 2015, when a Turkish F-16 downed a Russian Su-24M near the Syrian border. Turkey said the jet had crossed more than two kilometers into its airspace, a claim Russia denied.
