Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in NATO First, Calls It “Act of Aggression”

Poland shot down several drones that violated its airspace on Wednesday during a massive wave of Russian attacks on western Ukraine, marking the first time a NATO member has fired at Russian drones since the war began in 2022.

The incident, which saw multiple Russian drones cross into Polish airspace, has been labeled an “Act of Aggression” by Prime Minister Tusk, who confirmed that only drones posing a direct threat were targeted and neutralized. Polish military radars tracked over 10 drones throughout the night, and operations to intercept them have now concluded, according to Poland’s military command.

This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens, the command said in a statement. It also thanked NATO’s air command and Dutch F-35 fighters for their support in responding to the incident. Searches are ongoing to locate debris from the downed drones.

The airspace violations happened as Russia launched a major overnight attack on Ukraine, using over 400 drones and 40 missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said at least eight of those drones were directed toward Poland, calling it an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has been in close contact with Polish leadership, though the alliance has yet to issue a formal public response. The U.S. State Department and Pentagon have also been briefed, but have not commented officially.

In Washington, several lawmakers reacted swiftly. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin called the drone incursions a test of NATO's resolve. Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations, he posted on X. Republican Rep. Joe Wilson went further, calling the attacks “an act of war” and urging President Trump to hit back with sanctions to bankrupt the Russian war machine.

While incidents of Russian drones entering NATO airspace have happened before particularly in Poland and Romania this marks the first time a NATO country has shot them down, signaling a potential shift in how the alliance might respond moving forward.

In the background, Poland remains on heightened alert. It will close its border with Belarus at midnight on Thursday due to large-scale military exercises being conducted by Russia and Belarus near its frontier. Neighboring NATO countries, including Lithuania and Latvia, have also announced increased defense measures.

Russia has not commented on the drone incident. President Vladimir Putin has previously dismissed concerns about Russian aggression toward NATO, calling them Western propaganda. For Poland, however, the line may have just been crossed.