Poland said a number of Russian drones entered its airspace during an attack on Ukraine early Wednesday and were shot down with the help of NATO allies, a first since Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Leaders across Europe condemned the incident as the latest sign of escalation from the Kremlin, which has rebuffed President Donald Trump's bid to broker peace talks.
Poland's leaders spoke to their European counterparts afterward, and Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he spoke to Trump about the situation Wednesday afternoon.
Russia labeled the accusations “groundless" and said it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that it had attacked the “military-industrial complex of Ukraine” in a "large-scale strike" but that "there were no targets envisioned for destruction on the Polish territory," pointing to the flight range of the drones it said it used against western Ukraine.
It said it was "ready to hold consultations with the Polish Ministry of Defense on this matter."
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said there was no doubt the incursion was intentional, calling the violation an unprecedented attack on NATO and the European Union.
"In this case there were 19 breaches, and it simply defies imagination that it could be accidental," he told reporters.
The European Union needs to create a "drone wall" to face the challenges illustrated by the overnight incursion, he said.
"This is a threat not only to Poland, this new technology of the mass use of drones is a threat to all of the E.U. and nature, and we need to face it together,” Sikorski added.
NATO allies offer support
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier that his country had dealt with "a large-scale provocation” and that four of the 19 recorded drones were shot down.
Tusk added that a significant number of the drones flew in from Belarus, an authoritarian ally of Russia used as a launching pad for attacks on Ukraine.
“I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed," he told the Polish Parliament. “This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II."
Belarus said that the drones had “lost their way” and that it had also shot some down over its territory.
The Polish military’s operational command called the drones an “act of aggression" and initially urged residents to stay at home, with three eastern regions at particular risk. It later thanked NATO air command and the Dutch air force, which it said scrambled F-35 fighter jets.
Poland and the United States are members of NATO, which at its core is a mutual defense pact formed after World War II to deal with the threat posed by the Soviet Union, meaning an attack on one may be considered an attack on all.
Tusk said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies, and that he was in touch with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who called the incursion "reckless behavior," irrespective of whether it was deliberate.
A NATO official confirmed to NBC News that Poland had "requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty,” only the eighth time that the article — which does not trigger a military reaction — has been invoked since NATO was established in 1949.
NATO assets were engaged during the incursion and "responded quickly and decisively to the situation," Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, said in a statement.
Grynkewich added that NATO remained in close contact with Poland and other allies.
Matthew Whittaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said on X, "We stand by our NATO Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory."
Trump appeared to show his support for Poland, posting on Truth Social: "What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!"
The Russian incursion resulted in the closure of airspace over at least three airports in Poland, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Debris from the drones was found in several Polish cities. A spokesperson for the Polish Interior Ministry said seven drones and one fragment from “a projectile of unknown origin” had been found.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries.
Fears of Russian aggression expanding
Focus quickly shifted to what the incident may mean for the continent more broadly.
Increasing evidence, including the direction of travel, indicated this “was no accident,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
The European Union called it the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental,” Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, wrote on X, later describing the incident as a "game changer" and calling for "a very strong response."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN he had been briefed on reports of Russian drones over Poland as he left a dinner with Trump.
Sweden and Norway pledged their full support to Poland, while leaders of NATO’s Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — also voiced alarm.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned on X that Moscow was “deliberately expanding its aggression.” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said it offered “a stark reminder that Russia is not just a threat to Ukraine, but to all of Europe and NATO.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment further on the incident, saying "the leadership of the E.U. and NATO accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis."
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighboring Poland has remained on high alert, especially after a stray Ukrainian missile struck a Polish village a few months into the war in 2022 and killed two people there. Russian missiles have also briefly entered Polish airspace on at least two occasions.
But this new incident showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was "clearly testing NATO," said Michael Bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank. "He wants to see how far he can push, and whether he can push further," he told NBC News.
This is also "payback," said Bociurkiw, for Poland's "very central role in the war in Ukraine," as the "the prime logistical hub for U.S. and NATO and Western allied weapons."
Poland is "now a part of this war," he said. "They are much more on the front line than they were 24 hours ago."
