Poland’s military says it shot down more than 10 drones which violated its airspace during a Russian attack on western Ukraine.
Both Polish and NATO air defences were scrambled after drones ‘repeatedly’ violated the country’s airspace.
Those that posed a threat were ‘neutralised’, and searches to find their crash sites are ongoing.
Poland’s military command warned: ‘This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens.’
This is the first time Poland has got involved in the war in its neighbouring nation.
Most of Ukraine, including western regions of Volyn and Lviv which border Poland, had been under air raid alerts for nearly all night, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Poles have been urged to stay at home, with the Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin regions considered the most at risk.
Chopin airport in Warsaw, the country’s largest, announced that its airspace was closed due to military actions.
Flight tracking data showed a number of flights due to land there this morning were instead diverted to airports in Katowice, Wroclaw and Poznan.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was in ‘constant contact’ with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Over in the US, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones were a sign that ‘Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations’.
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