“Last night, the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones,” Tusk said on X.
“Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down. I am in constant communication with the secretary general of NATO and our allies.”
The incident marks the first time in the Ukraine war that Warsaw has engaged Russian assets in its airspace.
Radars tracked more than 10 objects, and those that could pose a threat were “neutralised,” the military said.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that aircraft had used weapons against “hostile objects” and that Poland was in “constant contact” with NATO command.
The country’s Territorial Defence Forces have been activated to search for wreckage of downed drones, Kosiniak-Kamysz said. He urged people not to pick up any fragments, saying they should instead contact the police.
Polish police said a damaged drone had been found in the eastern village of Czosnowka.
A Shahed drone flies during a Russian air strike on Kyiv last Sunday.Credit: Bloomberg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces sent 415 drones and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles into Ukraine in the latest attacks.
“Moscow always pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and if it does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation,” he said on X.
“Today there was another step of escalation – Russian-Iranian Shaheds [drones] operated in the airspace of Poland, in NATO airspace. It was not just one Shahed that could be called an accident, but at least eight strike drones aimed toward Poland.”
Zelensky said the incident was an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe” and called for tougher sanctions against Russia from western allies, although he did not name US President Donald Trump or make any direct criticism of American policy.
“Whether there will be further steps depends entirely on the co-ordination and strength of the response,” he said.
“The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must feel that the war cannot be expanded and will have to be ended.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
‘Unplanned military activity’
Polish and other NATO fighter aircraft were scrambled about midnight (8am AEST) after the Ukrainian Air Force warned on social media that Russian drones had entered Polish airspace.
Flight tracking accounts on X reported that NATO aircraft, including F-35 fighters, were operating over Poland. A Dutch Air Force A330 tanker aircraft used to refuel fighter jets appeared to be flying in a holding pattern over eastern Poland, Flightradar24 data showed.
Four airports in Poland, including the country’s largest, Chopin Airport in Warsaw, were closed due to “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security”, notices posted to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s website said.
Chopin Airport reopened early on Wednesday, the airport said in a statement on X, but warned that disruptions and delays might last throughout the day.
On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram that drones were heading west and threatening the Polish city of Zamosc, but later deleted the post.
Overnight, most of Ukraine, including the western regions of Volyn and Lviv, which border Poland and are far from the Russian-Ukrainian war front line, were under air raid alerts for several hours, according to Ukrainian air force data.
Police and medics evacuate Olha Trush, 86, from Yarova, a village hit by a Russian airstrike that killed dozens of civilians, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, on Tuesday.Credit: AP
Hours earlier, a Russian air strike killed 24 elderly people who were collecting pensions in a village in eastern Ukraine, officials said, prompting Zelensky to urge Kyiv’s allies to increase pressure on Moscow to end its war.
In a separate development, Poland said it would close its border with Belarus on Thursday at midnight (Polish time) as a result of Russia-led military exercises taking place in Belarus, amid escalating tensions between Minsk and Warsaw.
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Russia and Belarus’ large-scale military exercises, known as the “Zapad” drills, have raised security concerns in neighbouring NATO member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Zapad-2025 (“West 2025”) will be held in western Russia and Belarus.
The exercises will include drills on the possible use of nuclear weapons and the Russian-made intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile, according to the Belarusian defence minister.
NATO is holding drills on its side of the border about the same time. Poland and Lithuania began exercises earlier this month, with allied troops taking part.
Russian troops have pressed a grinding offensive across much of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, as diplomatic efforts to achieve peace in the 3½-year-old war have largely stalled.
On Sunday, Russia launched its largest drone assault so far in the war, targeting Ukrainian government buildings in central Kyiv for the first time.
With Reuters
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