Poland said on Wednesday that it had shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace during a massive attack on targets across the border in Ukraine, calling it an “act of aggression” by Moscow.
Poland and allied air forces launched warplanes in response and put ground-based air defenses on high alert, the Polish military said. It said that drones had repeatedly violated the country’s airspace after Russia began a wave of strikes in Ukraine, near the Polish border.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Poland. The military did not say how many drones had entered the country’s airspace or how many were shot down. The military said it was looking for crash sites.
“This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens,” the military’s operational command said on social media.
There was no immediate comment from Russia’s defense ministry.
At least three Polish airports were temporarily closed because of the military operation, including the country’s biggest, Warsaw Chopin Airport, according to notices posted by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States.
The Polish military advised people to stay at home. It said the biggest threat was in Poland’s eastern provinces, including Podlaskie, on the border with Belarus; the province of Masovia, which includes the capital, Warsaw; and Lublin, which borders both Belarus and Ukraine.
Russia’s full-scale offensive in Ukraine is in its fourth year, and it has recently ramped up its drone and missile attacks on the country, despite efforts by the United States and other countries to broker peace.
On Sunday, Russia launched its largest drone assault so far in the war, the Ukrainian authorities said. After that attack, the Trump administration said it was prepared to increase economic pressure on Russia to get it to negotiate.
President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has given little indication that he is ready to ease his maximalist demands to end the conflict.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022, NATO countries, especially Poland, have been on high alert for any expansion of the Russian campaign into their territories.
Zuzanna Piekarska contributed reporting.
Qasim Nauman is a Times editor in Seoul, covering breaking news from around the world.
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