Russian-made drones that breached Polish airspace this week were on a direct flight path to a NATO base used to supply Ukraine, German and NATO sources said, in an episode that prompted allied jets to fire on hostile aircraft over NATO territory for the first time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Polish forces and supporting NATO aircraft shot down multiple drones on Wednesday after the unmanned vehicles entered eastern Poland during a day of heavy Russian strikes on Ukraine. The incursions damaged several civilian homes and a base of Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces, and prompted Warsaw to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, asking allies to consult about collective security measures.
A report in the German newspaper Die Welt, citing NATO sources, said five of the drones were on a direct path toward a NATO facility that serves as a logistics hub for supplies to Ukraine. A high-ranking NATO officer told the paper that "based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered NATO airspace." Dutch F-35 fighter jets were reported to have taken part in the response and helped shoot down some aircraft.
Polish officials said up to four of 19 drones were destroyed by Polish and allied aircraft; debris struck houses in the villages of Wyryki and Mniszkow and hit a Polish military base. The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced restrictions on air traffic over the country’s eastern regions, at the request of the military, citing national security needs.
NATO officials said two additional drones crossed into Lithuania later on Wednesday, a movement allies described as part of a wider pattern that they believe may be testing the bloc’s responses. Polish authorities said some of the drones that entered their airspace had originated from Belarus, where Russian and Belarusian forces were assembling for planned exercises scheduled to start on Friday. Poland said it would close its border with Belarus at midnight on Thursday in connection with the drills.
Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, called for a strengthened layered defence along the country’s eastern border and asked NATO to help fund an "anti-drone wall." On public radio he said Poland needed more anti-aircraft assets such as Patriot missile batteries and cheaper, more effective means of detecting and shooting down swarms of drones. "This is the border of NATO — these drones have huge ranges," he said. "So it's a common threat to which we should have a common answer."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited troops at an air base in Łask, praised their rapid response and that of allied forces, and pledged a "great modernisation programme" for the armed forces. Tusk said Poland expects delivery of its first F-35 jets from the United States next year, the initial tranche of 32 aircraft ordered to bolster Poland’s air-defence capabilities.
Former U.S. envoy to NATO Kurt Volker told Polish radio that allies should consider declaring an extended air-defence posture around NATO territory, suggesting a buffer that would authorise action against threats approaching within roughly 200 kilometres of NATO borders. NATO officials said allies were reviewing inventories and moving temporary assets to Poland while assessing longer-term reinforcements.
European officials described the incursion as a deliberate provocation. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the episode was a "game changer" and argued it should prompt stronger sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump initially posted on social media asking why Russia had violated Poland's airspace with drones, and reiterated broad support for a robust U.S. military presence in the region during a recent meeting with Polish officials.
The strikes marked an escalation in a three-year conflict that has repeatedly spilled over into neighbouring countries’ airspace, but allies said the scale and apparent targeting of a NATO logistics hub raised new concerns. Polish authorities disclosed that the breaches were unprecedented in scale for NATO territory since the start of the war in 2022.
Officials said allies will weigh immediate measures to bolster eastern defences, including repositioning air-defence systems and accelerating procurement plans, and will also consider longer-term industrial steps to increase European production of air-defence capabilities. The Sky Shield initiative, a multi-nation plan often described as "Europe’s Iron Dome," remains part of broader discussions on how to provide collective protection against missile and drone threats.
All sides stressed that the details of the incidents remained under review. NATO and Polish authorities said investigations were ongoing to determine the full origin, flight paths and intent of the drones that crossed into allied airspace, and to identify steps to prevent similar breaches in the coming days as regional military activity continues.