Poland warns of war threat after Russian drones breach airspace

Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said yesterday the country was closer to military conflict "than at any time since the second world war" as Warsaw and Nato allies considered their response to an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.

- Shaun Walker Kyiv Jakub Krupa Pjotr Sauer

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 yesterday in the most significant way since the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

In the aftermath, Warsaw said that Nato allies had made concrete proposals to bolster the country's air defences. The UK is considering deploying Typhoon jets as part of an enhanced air policing mission to protect the alliance's eastern flank.

Tusk said at least 19 violations of Polish airspace had taken place 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 had taken part in the mission to intercept the drones. At least three drones were shot down.

Tusk, who convened an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday 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.