By AFP and Kontur | 2025-09-11

Poland gathered its NATO allies for urgent talks on September 10 after Russian drones flew into Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, warning that the situation was inching closer to "open conflict."

Poland's airspace was violated 19 times, according to Tusk, and at least three drones were shot down after Warsaw and its allies scrambled jets -- but authorities said nobody was harmed.

Footage posted by local media showed firefighters and police in the village of Wyryki, eastern Poland, inspecting a house with its roof ripped open and debris littered nearby following an impact from a drone.

Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of NATO members including Poland several times during Russia's three-and-a-half-year war, but a NATO country has never attempted to shoot them down.

Tusk said he had invoked NATO's Article 4 under which any member can call urgent talks when it feels its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" are at risk -- only the eighth time the measure has ever been used.

"This situation... brings us closer than ever to open conflict since World War II," he told parliament, but added there was "no reason today to claim that we are in a state of war."

Act of aggression

While the drones caused minor physical damage, the incident has sparked broader security debates within the European Union (EU), raising questions about whether such incursions are becoming a deliberate tactic to blur the lines between war and provocation.

Intelligence officials have noted an uptick in Russian aerial activity near NATO borders in recent months, suggesting a pattern of calculated risk-taking rather than accidental overreach.

German government spokesman Sebastian Hille earlier said Moscow was "testing" Ukraine's allies with the violation of Polish airspace, which he called a "very serious" incident.

Hille said it "once again shows the threat that we face" and how much Germany and other NATO countries "are being tested by Russia."

Tusk called it a "large-scale provocation" as Polish and allied forces quickly scrambled aircraft to neutralize the threats.

This event marked the first time NATO aircraft engaged threats in allied airspace, showcasing the alliance's strong defensive capabilities as systems including Dutch fighters, German Patriot missiles and Italian early warning planes activated swiftly to protect the area.

Hosting over a million Ukrainian refugees and serving as a key hub for Western aid to Kyiv, Poland has become an essential pillar of NATO's eastern flank, with Warsaw's actions bolstering Ukraine while protecting Europe from Russian threats.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte condemned Russia's "reckless behavior," calling it "absolutely dangerous," regardless of intent.

He praised the alliance's swift response and warned Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, end airspace violations and recognize that NATO will defend every inch of its territory.

Rutte's remarks highlighted the role of member states along the alliance's eastern frontier in maintaining collective security.

Western condemnation

Western officials portrayed the drone incursion as deliberate provocation, warning it carried the risk of dangerous escalation. German leaders said the attack showed Moscow was testing NATO's resolve, while Britain and France criticized the strike as reckless and pledged continued backing for Poland and Ukraine.

European Union officials echoed those concerns, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling the breach unprecedented and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggesting it was likely intentional. Their remarks underscored a growing view in Brussels that Russia is blurring the line between miscalculation and deliberate confrontation.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the incident as a "dangerous precedent" and urged Europe to move toward a joint air defense system, a step that would dovetail with Poland's calls for stronger regional defenses.

Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Wednesday the overnight intrusion of several Russian drones into the NATO member's airspace was "not an accidental event."

"We have no doubt that this was not an accidental event... We are dealing with an unprecedented case of an attack not only on Poland's territory but also on the territory of NATO and the European Union," Sikorski told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin denied responsibility. Russia's top diplomat in Poland, acting charge d'affaires Andrei Ordash, said the drones originated in Ukraine, and the Russian military insisted it had not targeted Polish sites.

With heightened concerns, Poland's President Karol Nawrocki warned that President Putin is prepared to invade additional countries.

"We do not trust Vladimir Putin's good intentions," he stated.