NATO shot down 3 Russia drones in Poland, all others crashed: official

NATO allies shot down three Russian drones that illegally entered Polish air space on Wednesday, in what officials tell Military Times was the first time in the alliance’s history that its planes engaged potential threats in allied airspace.

A senior Army official told reporters on Wednesday that eight other Russian drones crashed after entering Poland. There were no injuries from the debris.

The incursion prompted a “multi-layered response” from NATO allies, which placed German Patriots in Poland on alert and launched an Italian airborne early warning plane and an aerial refueler from NATO’s Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft fleet, according to a senior defense official.

Poland’s Operational Command posted a statement on X that Russian “drone-type objects” were struck down after they “repeatedly violated” Polish airspace early Wednesday.

Poland is a member of the NATO alliance and home to thousands of U.S. forces.

Following Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014, NATO enhanced its air policing operations in Poland with additional aircraft deployments to further ensure the integrity of NATO airspace on the alliance’s eastern flank.

NATO also has deployed additional aircraft to the Baltic States, Bulgaria and Romania.

Russia and Belarus reportedly began joint military exercises on Friday.

Russia on Sunday launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine since it began its invasion in February 2022.

Russia’s assault on Sunday involved more than 800 drones and decoys.

At least four people were killed in drone strikes that hit apartment buildings, including a mother and her infant. The main government building was also hit in the attacks.

北约盟国周三击落了三架非法进入波兰领空的俄罗斯无人机。据《军事时报》报道，官员们表示，这是北约历史上首次其战机在盟国领空打击潜在威胁。

一名高级军官周三告诉记者，另有八架俄罗斯无人机在进入波兰境内后坠毁。坠机事故未造成人员伤亡。

据一位高级国防官员称，此次入侵引发了北约盟国的“多层次反应”，德国在波兰部署的“爱国者”导弹防御系统进入警戒状态，并派出意大利空中预警机和北约多国多用途加油运输机（MRTT）机队的空中加油机。

波兰作战指挥部在 X 上发表声明称，俄罗斯“无人机类物体”在周三凌晨“多次侵犯”波兰领空后被击落。

波兰是北约成员国，驻扎着数千名美军士兵。

2014 年俄罗斯非法吞并乌克兰克里米亚半岛后，北约加强了在波兰的空中警戒行动，增派飞机部署，以进一步确保北约东翼空域的完整性。

北约还向波罗的海国家、保加利亚和罗马尼亚增派了飞机。

据报道，俄罗斯和白俄罗斯于周五开始联合军事演习。

俄罗斯周日对乌克兰发动了自2022年2月入侵以来最大规模的空袭。

俄罗斯周日发动的袭击动用了800多架无人机和诱饵。

无人机袭击造成至少四人死亡，其中包括一名母亲和她的婴儿。袭击目标包括多栋公寓楼。政府主要办公楼也在袭击中受损。