On the night of September 10, Poland raised its own and allied Air Defense Forces and shot down several drones that entered its airspace during Russia’s massive strike on Ukraine. Warsaw called the incident an “act of aggression” and convened an emergency government meeting in coordination with the NATO Secretary General. This marks the first time that an Alliance member has announced the downing of a Russian UAV over its territory due to an airspace violation.
The entry and neutralization of Russian UAV in Polish airspace creates a precedent for invoking NATO’s Article 4 (urgent consultations) and Article 5 (an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all).
The launch of the mechanisms of Art. 4/5 has not been officially announced, however the allies have already activated Joint Air Defense Capacities.
Airspace violations are not navigation errors but legally significant violations of sovereignty that requires a collective response. Moscow is purposefully probing NATO’s readiness, the level of integration of its air defense system, as well as political determination. Violations of airspace were recorded over at least three voivodeships — Podlaskie, Masovian and Lublin.
Four Polish airports were temporarily suspended due to air defense activities. Warsaw`s Chopin and Modlin, in Lublin. The airport in Rzeszow, which is the main hub of military and humanitarian logistics for Ukraine, was also shown to be vulnerable. This shows that Russian UAVs threats extend beyond Ukraine or its territory and could hit critical infrastructure of EU and NATO member states.
Polish military officials confirmed the use of weapons and the ongoing search for crash sites. According to official reports, more than 14 UAVs were involved, some were neutralized. At 05:40, the police found a damaged UAV in the village of Czosnówka (Lublin Voivodeship),
and the wreckage of another drone damaged the roof a private house and a car in Wyryki/Wyryki Wola.
Despite Polish and Allied Air Defense forces, the key mission of their existence — preventing the entry or shooting down of all UAVs — has not been achieved. This demonstrates that the existing air defense configuration is not effective, as the consequences of the air invasion occurred on Polish territory.
Importantly, this incident is part of a growing trend: Poland has recorded multiple drone crashes near its borders in recent days, dispelling the notion of “accidental navigation errors.”
Taken together, these events demonstrate that the current Air Defense configuration can intercept some threats but remains insufficient to guarantee airspace integrity, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure continuity of operations.
While Beijing avoids official statements about its support for Russian attacks against NATO, its policy of “partnership without limits” and large-scale technology supplies encourage the Kremlin to escalate beyond Ukraine.
Behind closed doors, China demonstrates its readiness to provide Moscow with the necessary components for the military-industrial complex and covers itself with rhetoric about NATO’s aggressiveness. Beijing creates an environment in which Russian dangerous steps look acceptable.
The Chinese side probably authorized the Russian drone attack on Poland, aiming to test Alliance’s Article 5 and to check NATO’s readiness.
The drone attack on Poland is not only a military incident, but also a political signal: the Kremlin wants to raise the stakes in discussions about “peace talks” by creating an atmosphere of constant threat. The Kremlin’s logic is to push the West toward concessions as the “lesser evil” to avoid NATO’s direct involvement.
Each UAV over Poland or Romania amplifies the risk of escalation, turning military brinkmanship into a bargaining chip for sanctions relief and territorial concessions.
American and European politicians interpret the night violations of Polish skies by Russian UAVs as an «act of aggression» or even an «act of war», emphasizing that the response cannot remain symbolic. The priority now is to escalate sanctions against Russia’s military-industrial base and external suppliers, and to accelerate the delivery of Air Defense, Missile Defense, and counter-UAV systems to Ukraine.
Warsaw has officially called the incident an «unprecedented act of aggression.» US senators publicly warned that Putin is “testing NATO’s resolve to defend Poland and the Baltics”. A coordinated US–EU–NATO response is essential.
The time to act has come.
Ivan Malalhov, special for CDN