MELBOURNE — Poland overnight engaged and shot down drones that crossed into its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Sept 10, the NATO member’s government has said.
The Russian drone overflights caused Polish authorities to temporarily close four airports in eastern Poland, including Chopin international airport in the capital Warsaw as well as that at Rzeszów near the Ukrainian border. The latter airport is where Western aid bound for Ukraine is regularly flown to.
The Operational Command of Poland’s Armed Forces, posting on its account on X (formerly Twitter), reported an “unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects” during a Russian attack on Ukraine.
“This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens,” it said, adding that the drones were tracked by Polish and allied radars following which defensive procedures were immediately activated and the decision was made to neutralize the threat.
“Some of the drones that entered our airspace were shot down. Efforts are underway to search for and locate the possible crash sites of these objects.”
Data from flight tracking websites showed at least one Polish Air Force Saab 340 Erieye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) patrolling eastern Poland, flying a nine-hour mission between Warsaw and Rzeszów.
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The Polish Air Force appeared to have received support from other NATO aircraft, with an Italian Gulfstream 550 AEW seen on flight trackers heading from Estonia where it was supporting the NATO Baltic air policing mission into Poland.
A Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter — later identified by the Dutch government as one of theirs — was also seen on the flight trackers over eastern Poland, along with an Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) from NATO’s Multinational MRTT Fleet.
Ukraine’s air force said that last night’s attack involved a total of 458 Russian drones and missiles. Its air defenses claimed a total of 413 shot down or suppressed, with 386 of these being drones of various types. It further noted that eight of these drones had crossed into Polish airspace.
The Russian drone overflights come a day after Poland announced that it would close its border with Belarus starting at midnight on Sept. 11, citing military maneuvers near the border related to the impending Russian-Belarussian Zapad military exercises.
The joint exercise would include drills on the possible use of nuclear weapons and the Russian-made, intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile, according to the Belarus defence minister.