Russian drones sent into Polish airspace were reportedly heading to a NATO base used to supply Ukraine, it has been revealed.
Poland’s military was forced to shoot down drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia‘s war in Ukraine.
Drones crashed into several civilian homes as well as a military base for Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces.
Die Welt, a German newspaper, reported that five of the drones were on a direct flight path to a NATO base used to deliver supplies to Ukraine.
A high-ranking NATO officer told the paper: ‘Based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered NATO airspace’.
NATO officials are particularly nervous given that two more drones entered Lithuania at 10am on Wednesday, hours after Russia sent drones to Poland. This is believed to have been done to test the defence bloc’s response.
Though the drones sent to the NATO base were shot down by Dutch F35 fighter jets, the episode has deeply worried Poland, which activated Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, calling on all its allies to discuss what to do about Russia.
Poland‘s deputy prime minister has called for NATO to build an ‘anti-drone wall’ on its border with Russia, just days after Vladimir Putin send dozens of drones into Poland’s airspace.
Up to four of the 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft – the first time Kremlin drones have been downed while flying above a NATO territory
Sikorsky said: ‘We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles (pictured) and we need more means to get rid of drones’
Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, with some being shot down by Poland with the backing from its NATO allies, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025
Radosław Sikorski, the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told Radio 4 this morning that his nation needs an ‘anti-drone wall’ to protect itself against Russia.
He said: ‘We have equipment to deal with jets, with fighters, but what we need now is an anti-drone wall on our border.
‘We’ve lived next to Russia for 500 years. When they threaten us, we take it seriously. We know that Russian imperialism in inherently aggressive. It’s aggressive against our neighbour Ukraine, but they’ve made threats against us as well.’
The comments come in the context of continued European planning on the Sky Shield initiative, dubbed ‘Europe’s Iron Dome’, which has seen several European nations plan an air defence system that would include anti-ballistic capabilities with an aim of defending the continent from air attacks.
Sikorski said Poland’s NATO allies ought to foot at least some of the bill for increased defences on its border with Russia.
He said: ‘We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles and we need more means to get rid of drones – acoustic systems to detect them, and cheaper more effective ways to shoot them down.
‘This is the border of NATO – these drones have huge ranges, they’ve been breaching airspace, not just Poland but Romania and Lithuania. So it’s a common threat to which we should have a common answer.’
He also condemned Europe for not investing in long-term defence manufacturing: ‘Europe has consumed the peace dividend for far too long, and not only disarmed itself but de-industrialised itself in the defence area. This has to be reversed.
‘Allies are now examining their inventories to see what can be moved to Poland, at least temporarily, to deal with the present danger. We also need to stand up our production facilities.’
Kurt Volker, a former ambassador who was George Bush’s last representative with NATO, told Radio 4 that NATO ought to set up an ‘air defence zone’ around its territories, in light of recent Russian aggression.
He said: ‘I think the best way to handle that is to declare an extended air defence zone around NATO territory, so that anything coming within 200km, we would say ‘NATO would be prepared to work to take it out. We will not allow these things to come to NATO’.’
He said that while NATO was perfectly capable of defending itself against Russia, it need to take decisive action.
Volker said: ‘I’m not too worried about [NATO’s ability to defend itself], to be honest. You can have a large number of drones, and you can fly into airspace, but the principle is that once you start to see this happen, you start to organise and prepare for it.
Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland
A severely damaged house in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building
‘I think Poland was not expecting that to happen – When it did, they reacted quickly, but knowing now that this is a possibility, NATO has the ability to increase its capabilities in a number of different ways.’
This morning, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to push ahead with a ‘great modernisation program’ for his country’s military.
European officials described Wednesday’s incursion, which occurred during a wave of unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine, as a deliberate provocation. It deepened longstanding fears that the three-year war between Poland’s neighbours could precipitate a wider conflict. US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.
The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced Thursday morning that Poland was introducing air traffic restrictions in the eastern part of the country. It said the step was taken at the request of the Polish army for national security reasons but did not elaborate.
Poland said some of the drones that entered its airspace Wednesday came from Belarus, where Russian and local troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday. Poland is closing its border with Belarus at midnight Thursday, a planned move also associated with the military exercises.
Tusk addressed Polish troops at an air base in the central city of Lask, praising their quick action and that of NATO allied forces from the Netherlands that responded to the multiple Russian drone incursions.
Poland expects to receive its first F-35 fighter jets from the United States next year, he said. It will be the first delivery of some of the 32 aircraft expected by 2030 as part of a support package finalized five years ago, Tusk said.
The jets are aimed at significantly strengthening Polish security and its NATO defense capabilities against regional threats.
‘We will do everything to ensure that our allied obligations, which are so important from our point of view today, are fulfilled by our allies,’ Tusk said
Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland hit by a drone on Tuesday night
Images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone as Europe edges closer to its most dangerous moment since 1945
‘We hope that the Americans will meet the deadlines. We would like the first batch of the F-35s to reach you in May, and so that we can speak of our air power with increasing confidence from month to month, and from year to year. And that Poland is truly safe from the sky.’
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered an ambiguous initial response to Russia’s drone incursion. ‘What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!’ Trump posted on social media.
Trump told Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the White House last week that the US will maintain a robust military presence.
Several European leaders said they believed the incursion amounted to an intentional expansion of Russia’s assault against Ukraine.
‘Russia’s war is escalating, not ending,’ European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. ‘What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer,’ she said, adding that it should result in stronger sanctions.
Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.
