The Polish military said early Wednesday that it had downed drones that violated its airspace as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.
Drones launched by the Russian military toward Ukraine have previously penetrated Polish territory since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, but this is the first time that Poland - a member of the NATO alliance - has shot down a hostile aircraft.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the X platform that he had received a report from the Operational Command of the Army about “the shutting down of drones that entered our airspace and could constitute a threat.”
He said he informed the NATO secretary-general about actions undertaken by the Polish side.
Poland’s armed forces were on a heightened state of alert overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday because of what they described as “further massive airstrikes against targets located in Ukraine.”
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that “more than 10 objects” crossed into Polish airspace and those that constituted a risk to Poland’s security were neutralized.
Warsaw’s Chopin Airport suspended flights for several hours, citing the closure of airspace due to military operations.
In response to the penetration of Russian drones into Polish territory, Ukraine said this morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to "expand the war and test the West."
Poland says Russian objects have entered its airspace before
Poland has complained about Russian objects entering its airspace during attacks on Ukraine before.
In August, Poland’s defense minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland was identified as a Russian drone, and called it a provocation by Russia. In March, Poland scrambled jets after a Russian missile briefly passed through Polish airspace on its way to a target in western Ukraine, and in 2022, a missile that was likely fired by Ukraine to intercept a Russian attack landed in Poland, killing two people.
Russian attacks hit central and western Ukraine
Russian drones injured three people in Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region, its head Serhii Tiurin wrote on Telegram early Wednesday morning. He said a sewing factory was destroyed, a gas station and vehicles were damaged, and windows in several houses were blown out.
One person was killed and one injured in Zhytomyr region overnight, regional administration head Vitalii Bunechko wrote on Telegram, while homes and businesses suffered damage.
In the Vinnytsia region, Russian drones damaged “civilian and industrial infrastructure,” according to regional head Natalia Zabolotna. Nearly 30 residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured.
In the Cherkasy region, several houses and a power grid were damaged in a Russian attack. In Zolotonosha district, a shock wave destroyed a barn killing two cows, regional head Ihor Taburets wrote on Telegram.