Airspace closed, jets scrambled: Russia's drone, missile strike on Ukraine prompts Poland, NATO to take action - What's happening
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NATO airspace Photograph: (Reuters)
As Russia struck Ukraine, Poland and NATO scrambled jets fearing airspace incursion. A massive drone attack hit Kyiv, damaging buildings. Poland called the move preventive, closing Lublin and Rzeszów airspace. Denmark also reported drone activity near its airports
As Russia carried out strikes on Ukraine on Sunday (Sep 28), the Polish armed forces said that Poland and NATO scrambled their jets in the face of a possible incursion into its airspace. This comes after Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the city came under a "massive attack", with a five-storey building partially destroyed due to debris from a drone. The Polish military said in a post on X that, as Russia is carrying out long-range aviation strikes on Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have begun operating in our airspace. The military termed the action as “preventive,” citing past incursions. According to Flightradar24, Poland's southeastern cities of Lublin and Rzeszów were closed until at least 0400 GMT due to “unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security.” Most recently, Denmark said drones were flown over its airports.
Russian drone incursion in NATO airspace
Poland, on September 9, confirmed that it shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace in a strike towards Ukraine. This was the first time since the start of the war in 2022 that a Russian incursion was reported in NATO nations bordering Russia-Ukraine. Romania was the second NATO country to report a Russian drone had breached its airspace on September 14. Then on Friday, Estonia requested an urgent consultation with other NATO members after three Russian warplanes entered its airspace “without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes.”
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “deliberately targeting” NATO countries. On Sep 20, Britain said it's fighter jets conducted a NATO air defence mission over Poland as part of an allied response to Russian drone incursions. Moscow has downplayed these incidents and has said that it has "no plans to target" facilities in Poland. These incidents have exposed the difference between European leaders' urgent calls for action against Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's muted response to these calls. NATO nations including Poland and Romania invoked Article 4 following airspace violations linked to Russia — a mechanism that prompts urgent talks among allies and that had only been triggered seven times in its 76-year history before this month.
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United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (Sep 21) vowed to defend Poland and the Baltic states in case of an escalation from Russia, days after Moscow's incursion into Estonia and Romania's airspace.
