Airspace violated: Polish F-16s and other jets scrambled to shoot down Russian drones
Polish F-16 fighter jets have shot down a number of Russian drones which crossed into Polish airspace overnight, the first time a Nato country had directly engaged Russian assets in its airspace since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Nato air defences were mobilised alongside Polish aircraft, a spokesperson for the alliance said.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk confirmed that he had invoked Nato's Article 4, which provides for an urgent consultation between member nations whenever the "territorial integrity, political independence or security" of one is threatened.
Healey and Starmer condemn attack
At a meeting of the E5 Group of Defence Ministers in London, Defence Secretary John Healey described Russia's actions as "reckless, unprecedented and dangerous", adding that the ministers would discuss additional support to be provided to Poland in the face of "escalating Russian aggression".
Polish defence minister Kosiniak Kamysz had been due to attend the meeting, but returned to Poland following the drone incursion.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also condemned the "barbaric attack on Ukraine and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace".
"This was an extremely reckless move by Russia and only serves to remind us of President Putin's blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment innocent Ukrainians face every day," he added.
Polish and Nato response
In a post on X, Polish armed forces called the incursion an "unprecedented violation", adding that it posed a threat to the safety of Polish citizens.
Earlier this morning, Mr Tusk held a meeting with the ministers responsible for state security and a meeting of the Council of Ministers, a spokesperson for Warsaw's government said.
He also told the Polish parliament that the Polish military found 19 drone incursions into its airspace, and claimed three or four were shot down, according to the BBC.
The number of drones involved in the incident are still to be determined as different sources suggest varying numbers.
He added that the drones had come from Belarus.
The drone incursion into Warsaw's airspace is not being treated as an attack, a Nato source told Reuters, adding that Nato Patriot air defence systems in the region had sensed the drones with their radars but had not engaged them.
Alongside the Polish F-16 fighter jets, the overnight operation to deal with the incursion involved Dutch F-35 Lightning, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refuelling aircraft jointly operated by Nato.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that it looked like Russia was "deliberate[ly] targeting" Poland.
"There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and travelling a short distance into neighbouring countries," Mr Zelensky said.
"But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting."
Meanwhile, Moscow's chargé d’affaires in Warsaw has denied the allegations that Mr Putin's forces launched drones into Polish airspace.
"We believe that the claims are groundless. There has been no evidence that these drones are of Russian provenance," Andrey Ordash told Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.
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