Poland 'closer to military conflict than at any time since WW2' as Nato allies weigh response to Russian drones

Donald Tusk says Poland dealing with a large-scale provocation after at least 19 violations of Polish airspace

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/10/poland-shoots-down-drones-over-its-territory-amid-russian-attack-on-ukraine-says-military

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said the country is closer to military conflict “than at any time since the second world war” as Warsaw and Nato allies weighed a response to an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace. Poland scrambled its own and Nato air defences, shooting down at least three drones, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine spread to Nato territory early on Wednesday in the most significant way since the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

There had been at least 19 violations of Polish airspace overnight, said Tusk, and some of them had entered Poland from Belarusian territory. Four Polish airports, including the two that serve Warsaw, were closed to traffic during the incursion. The prime minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, said F-35 jets from his country took part in the mission to intercept the drones. At least three drones were shot down.



Tusk, who convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, said: “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation … We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.” On social media, Donald Trump posted: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”

The White House said Trump would speak to Poland’s newly elected nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, while the US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, reiterated backing for Warsaw amid concerns in Europe over how the Trump administration might respond to a Russian attack on Nato. “We stand by our Nato allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of Nato territory,” wrote Whitaker in a post on X.

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