Poland has warned it is closer to conflict than at any point since the Second World War following an unprecedented incursion into Nato territory by Russian drones.
The country’s air defences were scrambled after 19 projectile UAVs entered its airspace during a major attack on western Ukraine, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said.
It marks the first time a Nato country has fired any bullets in relation to Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine since the conflict began in 2022. Mr Tusk has invoked Article 4 of the Nato treaty, demanding consultation with its member states.
“We are dealing with a large-scale provocation,” he said on Wednesday. “We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.
“The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.”
The incident has drawn fierce condemnation from Kyiv, Warsaw, and allies in Nato and Europe, who believe it was a deliberate act.
US president Donald Trump is set to speak with his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday as the Ukraine crisis threatens to spiral. Washington’s ambassador to Nato vowed that the US will defend “every inch of Nato territory”, a welcome statement for European leaders amid concerns about Mr Trump’s reluctance to engage militarily in Europe.
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he had been in touch with Mr Tusk to make clear the UK’s support for Poland and Ukraine, and thanked Nato and Polish forces for their rapid response.
“This morning’s barbaric attack on Ukraine, and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones, is deeply concerning,” Sir Keir said in a statement. “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.”
Sir Keir said the UK and its partners will continue to “ramp up the pressure on Putin until there is a just and lasting peace”.
Moscow has denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior Russian diplomat in Poland suggesting that the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.
Speaking to parliament on Wednesday after an emergency meeting with the military, Mr Tusk said 19 objects had intruded into Polish airspace overnight, at least three of which had been shot down.
Polish authorities reported drone debris around the eastern towns of Wyryki, Wyhalew, Czosnowka and Czesniki. Debris was also found in Mniszkow, a village in the central Lodz region, and in Olesno, a town 400km (250 miles) from Poland’s border with Ukraine.
In Wyryki, eastern Poland, a drone or similar object struck a residential building and tore off its roof. There have been no reports of injuries across Poland.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said there is “increasing evidence” that Poland was deliberately targeted.
“There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and travelling a short distance into neighbouring countries. But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting,” he said.
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Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said that a full assessment of the incident had not yet been made, but added that “whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous”.
A source told the Reuters news agency that Nato was treating the incident not as an attack but as an intentional incursion.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refueling aircraft jointly operated by Nato were involved in the overnight operation, according to the source.
Mr Rutte is in touch with Warsaw, which is consulting closely with the alliance on next steps.
