Poland says it shot down Russian drones in its airspace for the first time in Ukraine war

The Polish soldiers scrambled NATO and its own jets after Russian drones entered its airspace while attacking Ukraine, he said early Wednesday, which makes it the first time that Warsaw has engaged directly with Moscow assets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“During the today’s attack of the Russian Federation targeting objects in the territory of Ukraine, our airspace was violated several times by drone -type objects,” said the Polish military operational command in an article on X.

The soldiers also advised people to stay at home because the operation was still underway. The most risky areas were mainly along eastern Poland, namely Podlaskie, which borders Ukraine directly, as well as Mazowieckie and Lublin.

“An operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing these objects … Weapons have been used, and service staff carry out actions to locate the slaughtered objects,” said military command.

“The operational command of the Polish armed forces monitors the situation, and the subordinate forces and the units remain fully arranged to an immediate response,” he added.

This is the first time that Poland – or NATO’s assets – have been directly at Russian targets since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The radars operated by Poland and NATO had followed several drones before some of them were slaughtered, said the Polish army in a separate declaration on X, adding that it locates the crash sites.

At least three airports across Poland, including Chopin Airport in Warsaw, were “not available due to an unlanned military activity linked to state security insurance”, according to NOTAM alerts on the Federal Aviation Administration website.

Known as “opinion to aviators”, these alerts shed light on the crews on the air conditions sensitive to time for a safe flight.

“The airport remains open, but no flight operation takes place,” said Chopin airport in an article on X.

In the southwest of Warsaw, Lublin airport was also closed, according to a NOTAM. Rzeszów – Jasionka airport, a logistics center for military transfers and passengers in Ukraine, has also been closed.

The Polish commitment came while the Ukrainian Air Force previously warned that Russian drones had entered Poland’s airspace and laid down a threat to the city of Zamosc, before later withdrawn this declaration of the telegram messaging application, Reuters reported.

The Ukrainian Air Force expressed warning dozens of Russian drones and missiles attacking its own territory on Wednesday.

Poland and the United States are members of the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, which, to its heart, is a mutual defense pact, which means that an attack on one is an attack on all.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighboring Poland has remained on alert, especially after a wandering Ukrainian missile struck a Polish village a few months after the war in 2022 and killed two people there. The wandering Russian missiles have also briefly entered the Polish airspace at least two times.

In the United States, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told CNN that he had been informed of Russian drone reports in Poland when he had left a dinner with President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin, D-ill., Said that the violation of NATO airspace was a sign that “Vladimir Putin tests our determination to protect Poland and the Baltic nations”.

“After carnage Putin continued to visit in Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” he said on X.