Russian drones shot down in Polish airspace [summary as of 8:55 Sept. 10, 2025]

In what has been deemed an “unprecedented violation,” Russia sent more than 10 drones into Polish airspace early Wednesday (Sept. 10, 2025), with various reports surfacing that the Polish military had shot down “most” of the drones and/or “all drones that posed a [threat to the lives of citizens].”

Although drones have in the past strayed into the airspace of Poland and Romania, Wednesday’s response was the first time that a NATO member had targeted and brought down Russian drones or weaponry since the invasion in 2022.

During the operation, which saw the scrambling of Polish fighters and Dutch F35s, four Polish airports were closed, including Warsaw’s Chopin, and in the three state provinces deemed most at risk to Russian drone attacks, Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin Voivodeships, citizens were urged to remain home and shelter in place.

The Mazowieckie district is home to the Polish capital city, Warsaw.

Warsaw’s Chopin noted on its website Wednesday morning that the airport was again functioning before 9:00 A.M.

“We would like to inform you that the airspace above Chopin Airport has been reopened,” the airport website stated.

The exact number of drones that violated Polish airspace was unknown as of Wednesday morning, with the Polish military stating that “kilkanascie” had crossed into the country. [Ed. Note—this can effectively mean a “a dozen” or roughly more than 10, but less than 20.] By 8:08 Wednesday Polish military operations were “finished,” according to the Polish military’s Operational Command, and Territorial Defense units had been activated to search for the wreckage of downed drones.

No casualties were reported, although a house was reported by local media to have been hit and/or damaged by a drone or parts of a downed drone in Wyryki na Lubelszczyźnie. Photos of this home appeared to show a partially finished home that had likely been still under construction, with an upper wall impacted and collapsed.

[Ed. note--further photos indicated that a drone or part of a drone had likely come through the roof and decimated the interior of the house and possibly blown out the roof, although again, no casualties were reported.]

A wide range of Politicians, including US Democrats and Republicans, responded immediately to the what the Polish military called “an act of aggression,” with Democratic Senator Dick Durbin stating on X that [Russian President] “Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations […].”

Likewise, Republican representative and foreign affairs committee member Joe Wilson stated that Russia was "attacking NATO ally Poland" and that the incursion was an  "act of war."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Putin continues “escalation.”

Noteworthy is also that the drone incident comes just prior to the scheduled Belarussian-Russian military Zapad exercises, scheduled to begin Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, which have caused Poland and NATO to heighten security at the strategically important Suwalki Gap. The Zapad exercises also were cited as cause to shut the Belarus-Poland border by Poland, which prompted the Belarussian government to state Wednesday morning that Poland’s actions were “illegal” and that they affected entry to the entire EU. Belarussian spokesmen also said that Poland was “hiding it’s own activities” instead of protecting itself from a threat by Belarus.

Likewise, Wednesday’s incursion comes on the heels of the 1) failed Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Putin 2) a following summit that saw Putin meet with both the leaders of China and India 3) waves od drone and missile attacks across Ukraine that have targeted Ukrainian civilians and 4) increased efforts on the part of Russia to make gains at the end of the summer offensive, with the key city of Pokrovsk under threat, following a buildup of between 100,000 and 150,000 troops.

Bearing that in mind, Ukrainian long-range strikes may have also come into play, with the “drones above Poland” episode possibly a weak tit-for-tat answer to pummelled oil infrastructure and a Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile strikes hitting not only refineries, but also Russian navy ships and a Russian FSB base in Crimea.

Preston Smith is a licensed investigator based in Gdansk, Poland. He can be reached at query@cddi.pl.

Photo of Polish F-16 courtesy of the Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons.