Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has denounced as “reckless” a suspected Russia-steered drone attack on Poland, warning the alliance will defend “every inch” of its territory.
In a serious escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nato-allied aircraft were scrambled to shoot down some of the 19 drones that reportedly entered Polish airspace over a six-hour period until 6.30am on Wednesday.
Many crashed in uninhabited areas, Polish investigators said, while others struck homes and buildings in eastern Poland near the Belarus border. The furthest drone struck 300km into Polish territory.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk described the incident as “a large-scale provocation”. It marks the first time in Nato history that its members engaged enemy targets within alliance territory.
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Russia and its ally Belarus, the origin of the majority of the drones, sent mixed messages on Wednesday.
Minsk acknowledged launching drones. It said electronic interference made them drift off course and that it had informed neighbouring Poland.
“This allowed the Polish side to respond promptly to the actions of the drones by scrambling their forces on duty,” said the Belarus defence ministry in a statement.
Moscow said it had “no intention to engage any targets on the territory of Poland”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm or deny Russian involvement, and accused European Union and Nato leaders instead of making baseless accusations against Russia “on a daily basis”.
Polish investigators said the first drone parts recovered carried “Cyrillic writing” on their shells, but provided no other details.
European Nato leaders were quick to condemn the attack, while US president Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”
On Wednesday evening he telephoned with his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki, about what Mr Nawrocki described in a subsequent statement as “the multiple violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones”.
“Today’s talks confirmed allied unity,” added Mr Nawrocki.
Earlier, US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker assured Warsaw of America’s readiness to defend Poland.
[ Russia tests Nato as Poland confronts historic security breachOpens in new window ]
On Wednesday morning, after a night of alarms and uncertainty, Poland triggered article 4 of the Nato Treaty to open a formal discussion within the alliance. This is only the eighth time this article has been invoked since Nato was founded in 1949.
Warsaw stopped short of triggering the article 5 mutual defence clause, though the Nato response on Wednesday included Polish F-16 fighters, Dutch F-35 fighters, Italian air surveillance aircraft and a German air defence system.
Leading government officials in Poland and other Nato capitals said they were awaiting a full military assessment but it was unlikely so many drones could cross the border without intent.
“It is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous,” Nato’s Mr Rutte at a press conference. He told Russian president Vladimir Putin: “Stop violating allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant and that we will defend every inch of Nato territory.”
In Poland’s eastern regions, locals reported a night of explosions and unfamiliar aircraft engine noise.
“There was such a loud explosion ... and this flash around 3am,” said Piotr Urbanik, from the town of Dub, 40km from the Belarus border, to TVN24 television. “My first thought was that it was an outbreak of war.”
Poland closed four airports, including in Warsaw, for “operational reasons” early on Wednesday, causing delays on scheduled flights throughout the day.
As investigations into the drone incursions continue, Warsaw is closing its border to Ukraine on Thursday ahead of Russia-Belarus military exercises on Friday. Mr Tusk has warned that, unlike previous exercises, Friday’s manoeuvres will simulate “an attack, not defence”. Belarus has confirmed the exercises will include planning for the use of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons near the Russian militarised exclave of Kaliningrad.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, in a post on X, said: “Europe is in a fight ... for our liberty and our ability to determine our destiny for ourselves.”
French president Emmanuel Macron attacked the incident as “simply unacceptable”.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the border violation “an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland “stands in full solidarity with Poland and its right to take necessary steps to defend its sovereign territory”.
