Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland said early Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an “act of aggression” as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media that “Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down.”

Poland’s armed forces were on a heightened state of alert overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday because of what they described as “further massive airstrikes against targets located in Ukraine.”

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that “more than 10 objects” crossed into Polish air space and those that constituted a risk to Poland’s security were neutralized. He thanked NATO Air Command and The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force for supporting the action with F-35 fighter jets.

The Polish armed forces said Wednesday morning that a search for possible crash sites is ongoing and urged people not to approach, touch or move any objects they see, warning that they may pose a threat and could contain hazardous material.

Warsaw’s Chopin Airport suspended flights for several hours, citing the closure of airspace due to military operations.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that early indications suggest the drone incident was intentional.

“Last night in Poland we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental,” Kallas said in a statement.

The EU’s top diplomat said that she is in contact with NATO and Poland’s foreign minister and following developments.

“The EU stands in full solidarity with Poland. Russia’s war is escalating, not ending. We must raise the cost to Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine, and invest in Europe’s defense,” she said.

Poland has complained about Russian objects entering its airspace during attacks on Ukraine before.

In August, Poland’s defense minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland was identified as a Russian drone, and called it a provocation by Russia. In March, Poland scrambled jets after a Russian missile briefly passed through Polish air space on its way to a target in western Ukraine, and in 2022, a missile that was likely fired by Ukraine to intercept a Russian attack landed in Poland, killing two people.

Meanwhile, Russian drones injured three people in Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region, its head Serhii Tiurin wrote on Telegram early Wednesday morning. He said a sewing factory was destroyed, a gas station and vehicles were damaged, and windows in several houses were blown out.

One person was killed and one injured in Zhytomyr region overnight, regional administration head Vitalii Bunechko wrote on Telegram, while homes and businesses suffered damage.

In Vinnytsia region, Russian drones damaged “civilian and industrial infrastructure,” according to regional head Natalia Zabolotna. Nearly 30 residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured.

In Cherkasy region, several houses and a power grid were damaged in a Russian attack. In Zolotonosha district, a shock wave destroyed a barn killing two cows, regional head Ihor Taburets wrote on Telegram.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in its morning report on Wednesday that it had destroyed 122 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions overnight, including over the illegally annexed Crimea and areas of the Black Sea.

Joint military drills involving Russian and Belarusian troops are due to take place in Belarus starting Friday and will last until Sept. 16.

Troops from both countries will simulate repelling an attack, including airstrikes and sabotage, according to official reports of the games, dubbed “Zapad 2025,” or “West 2025.”

The aim is to showcase the close links between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russian military might, amid its 3½-year-old war in neighboring Ukraine.

The war games have drawn concerns in Kyiv and its Western allies of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which border Belarus. When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops rolling into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, many of them crossed from Belarus.

Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. AP writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

波兰华沙（美联社）——波兰周三早些时候表示，它及其北约盟国击落了侵犯波兰领空的俄罗斯无人机，波兰称这是俄罗斯对乌克兰发动空袭的“侵略行为”。

波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克在社交媒体上写道：“昨晚，大量俄罗斯无人机侵犯了波兰领空。那些构成直接威胁的无人机已被击落。”

波兰武装部队周二晚间至周三凌晨处于高度戒备状态，原因是他们所称的“针对乌克兰境内目标的进一步大规模空袭”。

波兰国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什在X网站上发文称，“超过10个物体”越境进入波兰领空，其中对波兰安全构成威胁的物体已被清除。他感谢北约空军司令部和荷兰皇家空军及航天部队出动F-35战斗机支援此次行动。

波兰武装部队周三上午表示，对可能坠机地点的搜寻工作仍在进行中，并敦促人们不要靠近、触摸或移动看到的任何物体，警告说这些物体可能构成威胁，并且可能含有危险物质。

华沙肖邦机场因军事行动导致空域关闭而暂停航班数小时。

欧盟外交政策负责人卡娅·卡拉斯表示，初步迹象表明，无人机事件是蓄意的。

卡拉斯在一份声明中说：“昨晚在波兰，我们看到了自战争开始以来俄罗斯对欧洲领空最严重的侵犯，种种迹象表明这是故意的，而不是意外。”

欧盟最高外交官表示，她正与北约和波兰外交部长保持联系，并密切关注事态发展。

“欧盟与波兰完全团结一致。俄罗斯的战争正在升级，而不是结束。我们必须提高莫斯科的代价，加强对乌克兰的支持，并加大对欧洲防务的投入，”她说道。

波兰此前曾抱怨俄罗斯物体在袭击乌克兰期间进入其领空。

8月，波兰国防部长表示，坠落在波兰东部玉米地并爆炸的飞行物被确认为俄罗斯无人机，并称这是俄罗斯的挑衅行为。3月，一枚俄罗斯导弹短暂飞越波兰领空，目标是乌克兰西部，波兰随即紧急出动战机进行拦截。2022年，一枚疑似乌克兰为拦截俄罗斯导弹而发射的导弹落入波兰境内，造成两人死亡。

与此同时，乌克兰西部赫梅利尼茨基州州长谢尔盖·秋林周三清晨在Telegram上发文称，俄罗斯无人机在该地区造成三人受伤。他表示，一家缝纫厂被毁，一个加油站和一些车辆受损，数栋房屋的窗户被震碎。

日托米尔地区行政长官维塔利·布涅奇科在Telegram上发文称，一夜之间，该地区发生一起造成一人死亡、一人受伤的事件，房屋和商铺遭到破坏。

据文尼察州州长娜塔莉亚·扎博洛特娜称，俄罗斯无人机在文尼察州破坏了“民用和工业基础设施”。近30栋居民楼受损，一人受伤。

切尔卡瑟州发生俄罗斯袭击事件，多栋房屋和电网遭到破坏。佐洛托诺沙区区长伊戈尔·塔布列茨在Telegram上发文称，冲击波摧毁了一座谷仓，导致两头牛死亡。

俄罗斯国防部在周三的晨报中表示，一夜之间，俄罗斯在包括非法吞并的克里米亚和黑海地区在内的多个俄罗斯地区上空摧毁了 122 架乌克兰无人机。

俄罗斯和白俄罗斯军队将于周五开始在白俄罗斯举行联合军事演习，演习将持续到9月16日。

据官方报道，此次军演名为“Zapad 2025”（西方 2025），两国军队将模拟击退包括空袭和破坏在内的攻击。

其目的是在邻国乌克兰持续三年半的战争中，展示莫斯科和明斯克之间的密切联系以及俄罗斯的军事实力。

此次军事演习引起了基辅及其西方盟友拉脱维亚、立陶宛和波兰的担忧，这些国家与白俄罗斯接壤。2022年2月24日，俄罗斯总统普京派遣军队进入乌克兰，其中许多士兵是从白俄罗斯越境进入的。

诺维科夫从乌克兰基辅报道。美联社记者洛恩·库克（布鲁塞尔）和盖尔·穆尔森（柏林）对本报道亦有贡献。