Belarus said Wednesday its military had shot down drones overnight after they entered its airspace during Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine.
The statement came from Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the Belarusian general staff, who said the drones had “lost their track” because of electronic jamming and interceptions carried out by both Kyiv and Moscow.
He did not specify whether the drones were Ukrainian or Russian but said Belarus had “alerted Poland” about some of the objects heading toward its territory.
Poland confirmed on Wednesday that its air force had scrambled jets with NATO allies and used weapons against “hostile objects” that crossed into its airspace.
Poland temporarily closed at least four airports, including Rzeszów, Lublin, Warsaw, and Modlin, along with the surrounding airspace. The Podlaskie, Masovian, and Lublin voivodeships were reported to be at greatest risk.
A Ukrainian monitoring channel linked to a government official Nikolaevsky Vanek noted that more than 10 drones crossed into Poland and did not return – an unparalleled occurrence.
Speaking ahead of an emergency government meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incident an “unprecedented” violation and a “large-scale provocation” by Russia.
Local media reported that one drone crashed into a house in the village of Wyrzyki-Wola, near the Belarusian border. The impact damaged the roof but caused no fire, and no one was injured. Firefighters and emergency services were deployed to the site.
The overnight incursions came as Russia unleashed one of its heaviest barrages in months, striking targets across Ukraine, including the western city of Lviv, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Polish border.
Ukraine warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “testing the West” and urged allies to respond firmly, saying that without action, Russian drones could “fly even further into Europe.”
NATO has previously reported stray Russian drones or missiles entering allied territory during the war, but the incident marked the first time a member state said it had shot any down.