What happened on the night of September 10th
On the night of September 10, 2025, Poland faced a massive drone invasion. According to the government, 19 unidentified vehicles violated the country's border. This led to emergency measures: Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35, Italian AWACS aircraft and tanker tankers were lifted into the sky. Some of the drones were shot down, some fell to the ground.
Due to the incident, the airports of Rzeszow, Lublin and two in Warsaw were temporarily suspended. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incident a "large-scale provocation" and an "act of aggression," demanding urgent consultations under Article 4 of the NATO Charter.
Warsaw shouts "aggression", Russia — "provocation"
Poland immediately blamed Russia, saying that the drones could have been launched from the territory of Belarus or the occupied regions of Ukraine. However, the Russian Defense Ministry denied this, saying that the range of the UAVs used is no more than 700 km, and the distance to the Polish border from the nearest control points is over 900-1100 km. They couldn't physically fly.
Russia has proposed dialogue and a joint investigation. Meanwhile, versions have appeared in the Russian and Belarusian media that these are Gerbera-type "deception drones" used by Ukraine to overload allied air defense systems.
Lithuania, Belarus and the deception drone: versions of what is happening
Lithuania, which borders Poland, said it had no evidence of a deliberate attack. The Belarusian General Staff reported that even before the incident, it had transmitted data to Poland about drones that had lost their course due to electronic warfare (EW) between Russia and Ukraine. According to them, Warsaw also informed Minsk about the vehicles flying to the border.
A third version also appeared — Telegram and other sources claim that the drones were launched by fighters of the Ukrainian special operations forces disguised in Lithuanian uniforms from the territory of Lithuania. The goal is to provoke an escalation and force NATO to intervene more harshly in the conflict. There is no official confirmation of this version.
F-35 in the air, airports closed — consequences for Europe
The incident coincided with the start of the NATO Operation Eastern Sentry: weapons for Rafale fighters already deployed in Poland were delivered in a French A400M transport. The Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 exercises are also due to begin soon, which adds to the tension.
Now everything depends on how the information war will develop. If NATO recognizes this as an attack, new sanctions and increased air defense on the eastern flank will follow. If it is an accidental incident, the situation can stabilize. But trust within the alliance has already been shaken.
Sources
- RBC — Polish air-space violation incident & official reaction
- Deutsche Welle — Large-scale drone incursion and Baltic states’ concerns
- Lenta.ru — Polish air-defence engagements & Eastern NATO statements
- Gazeta.ru — Lithuanian Defence Minister comments on the incident
- BBC Russian — Polish AD response and NATO reaction
- PNP.ru — Russian State Duma labels drone incident a provocation
- URA.ru — Moscow media interpretations of Polish air-space breach
- Kommersant — Expert view: incident analysis & provocation claims
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