Britain has asked its armed forces to examine options to bolster NATO air defences over Poland after multiple unmanned aerial vehicles violated Polish airspace and were intercepted, Defence Secretary John Healey said Wednesday.
Speaking after talks with defence officials from Poland, Italy, France and Germany, Healey said the incursion represented a "new level of hostility" from Russia and that Moscow was "testing" the West. He said he had asked the UK Armed Forces "to look at options to bolster NATO's air defence over Poland."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said multiple Russian drones entered Polish airspace and that those "that posed a direct threat were shot down." He wrote on social media that the violations followed Russia's largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began, which struck a key government building in Kyiv three days earlier.
Polish authorities ordered more than eight million residents to shelter as the drones passed overhead. Debris from at least one intercepted device struck a house and damaged a car, and investigators cordoned off an area near Mnishkov to inspect parts of a recovered drone. Poland's operational military command described the airspace violations as "unprecedented" and called them "an act of aggression." Tusk said he had invoked NATO's Article 4, a mechanism that allows any member to request consultations when it feels its territorial integrity or security is threatened.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the violation as a "dangerous precedent" for Europe on social media, calling it an attempt to "humiliate" Poland and urging a strong NATO response.
Heathrow and other British officials were careful to stress that Royal Air Force jets were not involved in the intercepts. NATO officials said aircraft from the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany played roles in responding to the incursion. Former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who commented on the allied response, said NATO was "vigilant" and would defend "every inch" of its territory.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told lawmakers at Prime Minister's Questions that he had spoken with Tusk to "make clear our support for Poland" and said Britain would continue to back Ukraine alongside partners.
Russian officials in Warsaw were summoned to the Polish foreign ministry for a meeting, and Andrei Ordash, described as Russia's top diplomat in Poland, told RIA Novosti that Warsaw had not yet provided evidence that the drones had come from Russia.
Russian drones and missiles have crossed into NATO airspace on several previous occasions during the war in Ukraine, but allied forces had not previously attempted such interceptions in NATO territory. The Polish government and allied officials said the decision to shoot down devices that posed a direct threat marked a significant escalation in responses to cross-border incursions.
Healey said the E5 group — representing the defence officials who met — "totally condemn[ed] these attacks" and that NATO partners would stand firm in the face of further aggression. He did not specify which capabilities the UK might deploy or a timeline for any movement of aircraft; any such decisions would be taken in consultation with NATO allies.
The invocation of Article 4 will bring NATO consultations as Warsaw and allied capitals assess the incident and next steps. The use of Article 4 is relatively rare: Tusk said this was only the eighth time the measure had been invoked. Polish and NATO officials said investigations into the origin and flight paths of the drones were continuing, and forensic teams were collecting wreckage and other evidence at sites where debris fell.
The incident adds to tensions across Europe amid the months-long conflict in Ukraine, and allies are assessing both immediate defensive measures and broader diplomatic and military responses as investigations proceed.