Warsaw, Poland – September 11, 2025 – Poland has confirmed that it shot down multiple Russian drones after they entered its airspace early Wednesday, with assistance from NATO military aircraft.
This marks the first time a NATO member has used live fire during Russia’s war in Ukraine, a move that has raised tensions and sparked fresh discussions over European security and aviation safety.
The incident occurred near the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka, close to the Ukrainian border. Villagers reported hearing loud explosions overnight, and one damaged drone was later recovered from farmland.
Polish military officials said the drones were most likely targeting locations in western Ukraine but crossed into Poland by mistake — a violation of its airspace that Warsaw could not ignore.
“Poland will not tolerate any threat to its sovereignty,” said Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
“Thanks to cooperation with NATO allies, we neutralized the threat quickly and safely.”
NATO confirmed that its air policing mission in Eastern Europe supported Poland’s response by scrambling fighter jets from allied bases in Germany and Lithuania.
European civil aviation authorities have expressed concern over the growing risk to commercial air traffic in the region. Some airlines are reportedly considering rerouting flights away from eastern Poland and western Ukraine until further notice.
This incident comes amid heightened Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including those near the border. Security analysts warn that accidental or deliberate airspace violations could drag NATO countries closer to direct confrontation with Moscow.
“This is the closest we have come to NATO forces engaging Russian assets since the war began,” said a European security analyst.
“Each incident like this increases the risk of escalation.”
Poland has called for an emergency meeting of NATO’s North Atlantic Council to discuss how to respond to future airspace breaches. Meanwhile, European aviation regulators are reviewing flight safety protocols to prevent accidental encounters between civilian aircraft and military operations.
