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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an operation was underway responding to “multiple violations” of Polish airspace as Russian forces attacked parts of western Ukraine bordering Poland early Wednesday morning.
It comes after the Polish armed forces reported they had shot down multiple drone type objects that “repeatedly violated” the country’s skies.
“Weapons have been deployed, and operations are underway to locate the downed objects,” the armed forces said in a post on X. Forces had been brought to the “highest state of readiness,” it added.
The operation marks the first time NATO member Poland has directly engaged with Russian assets since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said that armed forces were working to “neutralise” the objects and asked citizens to “follow announcements of the Polish army and police.” Tusk was “present at the scene”, he later added.
The country’s operational command listed three regions currently vulnerable: Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin Voivodeships, all located in the eastern part of Poland bordering Belarus and Ukraine.
It said that some of the drones had been shot down, with efforts to work out the crash sites of the objects underway. The incident marked an “unprecedented violation of Polish airspace,” it said in a post on X.
Warsaw’s Chopin Airport — located in Mazowieckie — said the airport was open but “there were no flight operations for the time being.” Warsaw Modlin, Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport and Lublin Airport also suspended flights.
Poland’s operation comes as much of Ukraine, including parts of the west that border Poland, was under air raid alert for Russian missile and drone attacks overnight through Wednesday.
This is a developing story and our journalists are working on bringing you further updates.