Poland said it shot down multiple unmanned aerial vehicles that it said had repeatedly violated its airspace early Wednesday, prompting an extraordinary government meeting and a rapid NATO response with fighter jets on patrol in neighboring states.

Poland’s military said an operation to identify and neutralize the objects was under way and that weapons had been used against the targets. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the intruding drones “could have posed a threat” and that he had received a direct report from the operation commander as he convened his cabinet and scheduled an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Poland’s Operational Command identified the most at-risk regions as Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lublin and urged residents to stay indoors while forces searched for possible crash sites. Flight tracking services and notices to airmen indicated restricted activity around several Polish airports; the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration listed a notice in force for four airports and traffic areas, but Polish authorities had not publicly confirmed airport closures early Wednesday.

NATO moved jets into the skies over Slovakia and Romania and reported allied aircraft — including at least one U.S. F-35 and a Dutch refueling plane — were participating in the mission to strengthen air defenses in the region. The allied deployment came as Russia reportedly launched a separate missile and drone barrage against targets in Ukraine.

The incident marks the first recorded direct military clash between Poland and Russia since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Poland is a NATO member and the intrusion escalated concerns in the alliance, which said it was monitoring the situation closely. Russia’s Defense Ministry had not issued a public confirmation or explanation for the alleged incursion on Wednesday.

U.S. and European politicians voiced sharp reactions. Republican Representative Joe Wilson described the episode as Russia “attacking NATO ally Poland” and called it “an act of war,” urging tougher sanctions on Moscow and greater military assistance to Ukraine. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin wrote that the aggression was a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.” Senator Chris Murphy said the presence of drones over NATO territory would be "incredibly serious," though he said he had not yet been briefed on intelligence details.

Ukraine’s government said drones and missiles were being launched westward toward its border regions. Andriy Yermak, head of the office of Ukraine’s president, said Russia had launched “many missiles, and drone attacks continue, which pose a threat not only to our people,” calling Moscow a “terrorist country” that continued its war despite professed desires for peace.

Poland said its forces had been put on full readiness and were carrying out actions to locate downed objects. The military urged calm and said subordinate units remained prepared for immediate response while officials assessed the scale and origin of the drones. Unverified local reports of airport closures and disrupted civilian flights circulated early Wednesday; air-traffic monitors showed commercial overflights diverting farther west than usual.

Security tensions in the region have been heightened by joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises and plans for larger Zapad drills in 2025, which neighboring NATO members have long viewed with concern. Poland earlier announced the temporary closure of part of its border with Belarus, citing the exercises.

The reported drone incursion occurred amid a renewed Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv officials said recent strikes had caused civilian casualties, including a strike this week that reportedly killed dozens of people in a village in eastern Ukraine. Diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war have remained stalled.

Poland, NATO and U.S. officials said they would continue to evaluate evidence and coordinate their response. The U.S. State Department and the White House had not issued detailed public statements as of early Wednesday. Russia’s lack of an immediate official comment left key questions about ownership and intent unresolved, while allied capitals sought to gather intelligence and consult on potential steps to bolster regional security and deter further incursions.