WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine on Wednesday, the first time a NATO member state has fired shots in the war.
Here are some details of the events overnight, actions taken by Poland and the response of its allies.
WHAT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT?
Poland, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO, received the first alert about the Russian attack on Ukraine at 2006 GMT on Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament.
Russia launched around 415 drones and over 40 missiles across 15 Ukrainian regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 386 drones and 27 of the 43 missiles.
The first violation of Polish airspace violation occurred at around 2130 GMT on Tuesday, and the last one took place at around 0430 GMT on Wednesday, according to Tusk.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refuelling aircraft took part in the overnight operation following the airspace violations, western officials said.
Zelenskiy said at least eight Russian drones had been aimed at Poland, with at least two entering Polish territory via Belarus.
Poland said it detected a number of airspace violations overnight, with many originating from Belarus. It confirmed shooting down three drones and said it was likely that a fourth had been destroyed. The last drone was downed at 0445 GMT, it said.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?
Polish authorities began searching for drone debris and urged people to report any sightings, while urging them not to approach unidentified objects.
Seven drones and parts of a missile were found, mostly in the east of the country. One drone was found near Mniszkow in Lodz province, over 240 km (149 miles) west of the border with Belarus, the interior ministry said.
President Karol Nawrocki will convene the National Security Council within 48 hours.
Poland asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which states that members of the Western military alliance will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.Polish officials said they were unable to say immediately whether any of the drones had been targeting the capital Warsaw, a western Ukraine aid logistics hub in southeastern Poland or any NATO infrastructure.
HOW HAVE POLAND’S ALLIES RESPONDED?
NATO remains in close contact with Poland and other allies, said U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top military commander.
European officials described the drone incursion as deliberate and escalatory. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said early indications suggested the drones entered European airspace intentionally.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for increased sanctions on Russia.
(Reporting by Anna Koper, Pawel Florkiewicz and Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
