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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Poland has said that Russian drones attempted to violate its airspace again, only days after another encroachment prompted Warsaw to call on NATO to hold urgent security talks.
Polish Internal Affairs Minister Marcin Kierwiński said Thursday that the country's border guards had recorded increased activity by drones from Russia and its ally Belarus as they attempted to cross into Poland's airspace.
Warsaw announced earlier this month that it had shot down Russian drones that entered its territory on September 10 in an incident that prompted international alarm.
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Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
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Why It Matters
Kierwiński's comments come only days after Poland shot down Russian drones in what was the first time a NATO country has directly engaged Russian military hardware in its own airspace since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Reports of Russian drones attempting to breach Polish airspace will add weight to the debate about NATO's rules of engagement and whether Moscow is trying to test the alliance.
What To Know
Kierwiński was asked by reporters on Thursday if Poland's border with Belarus would be reopened. It was closed on September 12 due to perceived security threats posed by the Zapad military exercises between Russia and Belarus and the recent drone incursion into its territory.
The minister replied that the border would only be reopened when it was certain that there was no chance of danger or provocations. He said that over the previous night, there had been increased activity of Belarusian and Russian drones, which tried to cross Polish airspace.
He added that the situation along the Polish-Belarusian border was tense and that it would open again once there was information that the situation there was safe, he added, according to a translation of his comments on Polish outlet RMF24.
It comes as NATO members weigh up the strategic implications of the recent breach of Polish airspace by Russian drones which prompted Warsaw to invoke Article 4 of the alliance's charter to initiate discussions about the security risk.
Russia said its forces were attacking Ukraine and did not intend to hit targets in Poland, but analysts believe this was a deliberate probe to test NATO's air defenses and political resolve as Moscow's use of Gerbera drones—cheap, radar-mimicking decoys—pointed to a hybrid strategy of provocation without triggering full retaliation.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the charity Hope for Ukraine, previously told Newsweek that NATO had struggled to deal with 19 dummy drones over Polish airspace, raising questions of how it would cope with Russia launching a large number drones and ballistic missiles simultaneously as it often does against Ukraine.
He said that just as Russia and Belarus conducted Zapad-2025 with their allies, NATO and its allies must organize similar war games with Ukrainian drone instructors, "so they can master this new form of warfare before it's too late."
What People Are Saying
Polish Internal Affairs Minister Marcin Kierwiński: "It is clear that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border is very, very inflamed all the time."
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the Hope for Ukraine charity: "NATO recently struggled to deal with just 19 dummy drones over Polish airspace. Imagine Russia launching 800 drones and ballistic missiles simultaneously, as they do against Ukraine—would the NATO alliance be able to withstand such an assault with its current training and equipment?"
What Happens Next
As concerns grow over whether the war in Ukraine could escalate across the region. Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday that Ukrainian troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts in how to counter drones.
Update 9/18/2025 9:14 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.
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