Poland seeks NATO consultations after downing Russian drones

Poland sought a consultation of NATO powers after shooting down drones that crossed into its territory during Russia’s latest massive air strike on Ukraine, calling the incursion an “act of aggression.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the airspace violation in the early hours of Wednesday amounted to an intentional provocation from Moscow, forcing the NATO and European Union member state to close its airspace and order citizens in the eastern part of the country to stay indoors.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte denounced “Russia’s reckless behavior” and confirmed that the alliance discussed the incident after Poland invoked Article 4 of the alliance treaty, which triggers consultations and can open a path to coordinated action among allies.

“There is no reason to claim that we are currently at war,” Tusk told a session of parliament in Warsaw. “However, there is no doubt that this provocation exceeds previous limits and is incomparably more dangerous for Poland than all previous ones.”

Polish authorities registered 19 airspace violations, with a “significant” number of drones originating from Belarusian territory, Tusk said.

Top European Union officials pledged solidarity with Poland, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech in Brussels. The E.U.’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas said “indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”

Any further NATO action would require consensus, including the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the discussions. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the events. Trump plans to speak with Polish President Karol Nawrocki later Wednesday, a White House official said.

“What is clear is that the violation last night is not an isolated incident,” Rutte told reporters, adding that officials were assessing the incursion. “Whether it was intentional or not, it was absolutely reckless.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces didn’t target objects in Poland, according to a statement on Telegram. The overnight strike was against Ukrainian defense plants, the ministry said, but added it was “ready to hold consultations on this subject with the Polish defense ministry.”

“Russia has endangered human lives in a state that is a member of NATO and the E.U.,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement. “This reckless action is part of a long chain of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and on NATO’s eastern flank.”

U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey, who called the drone flights “dangerous, reckless, unprecedented,” said his government is assessing ways to help Poland boost air defense. One option is returning at least some of the six Typhoon jets that had been deployed in Poland as part of NATO’s air-policing mission until six weeks ago, according to a person close to the discussions.

Britain has some 300 military personnel in the country, Healey said.

Allies will assess the situation and see if any additional steps were needed at the military level given Russia’s growing brazenness, people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified said. They said allies were expecting more details from Poland.

The Polish zloty fell as much as 0.5% against the euro, the biggest daily drop since the end of July and worst performance among eastern European currencies on Wednesday. Warsaw’s WIG20 index dropped as much as 2.6% in early trading and the country’s dollar bonds also declined.

It’s the first time that a NATO member shot down military aircraft that strayed into its airspace since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The country has regularly scrambled its military jets during Moscow’s air strikes, which recently have grown more intense and deadly.

There were no casualties from the incursion, Tusk said, adding airports — including the main hub in Warsaw — were resuming operations. Debris from a drone hit a house in the village of Wyryki Wola in eastern Poland, less than 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Belarus, Polsat News reported.

Russia launched about 415 drones of various types and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles against 15 Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Russia’s temporary chargé d’affaires, Andrey Ordash, was summoned to Poland’s Foreign Ministry after the incursion, RIA Novosti reported, citing the diplomat.

The drone incursion prompted authorities to close the airspace over parts of the country, including over the main international airport in Warsaw.

Earlier, Poland’s military appealed to the nation’s citizens to stay at home during the operation. The eastern regions of Podlaskie, Masovia and Lublin that are close to Ukraine and Belarus were the “most endangered regions,” it said. The army is searching for debris from downed drones and said the incursion created a “real threat” for the citizens.

Belarus’s Defense Ministry said its forces tracked drones that flew off course due to signals jamming and informed Polish and Lithuanian authorities, according to a statement on Telegram.

Poland is situated on NATO’s eastern flank bordering Belarus, a key ally of Russia, and war-torn Ukraine. The government in Warsaw has strongly supported Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. Last month, Poland’s defense minister accused Russia of staging a provocation after a military drone crashed and exploded in the eastern part of the country.

In November 2022, just months after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, a stray missile killed two people in a Polish village of Przewodow. That incident was later attributed to Ukrainian forces trying to shoot down scores of Russian rockets.

“It is clear that Russian aggression poses a danger to every independent nation in our region, and therefore only joint and coordinated action can guarantee reliable security,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Russia must feel that the response to this escalatory step, and even more so to an attempt to humiliate one of Europe’s key countries, will be clear and strong from all partners.”

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—With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Michael Heath, Konrad Krasuski, Josh Wingrove, Andra Timu, Slav Okov, Michael Nienaber, Danny Lee, Aradhana Aravindan and Kasia Klimasinska.