Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace on Tuesday.
Poland, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO, received the first alert about Russia’s drone attack on Ukraine at 2006 GMT on Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament.
Poland's airspace was violated 19 times, Tusk said, and at least three drones were shot down after Warsaw and its allies scrambled jets, but authorities said nobody was harmed.
The first violation of Polish airspace occurred at around 2130 GMT, and the last one took place at around 0430 GMT on Wednesday, according to Tusk.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and mid-air refuelling aircraft took part in the overnight operation following the airspace violations, western officials said.
The violation of Polish airspace by drones is a serious incident that may have far-reaching consequences, but it must be established if it was intentional or accidental and who controlled the drones, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said, amid rising war hysteria.
Here’s what different sides have been saying about the drone attack.
Russia denies
Russia's defence ministry denied targeting Poland, saying they were ready to talk with Warsaw.
The ministry said its forces had achieved all their targets in the attack in Ukraine and pointed out that the Russian drones, "which allegedly crossed the border with Poland," had a range of not more than 700 kilometres.
"There were no intentions to engage any targets on the territory of Poland," the ministry said in a statement.
A Russian diplomat said that Poland had not given any evidence that the drones shot down in Poland were of Russian origin, Russia's RIA state news agency reported.
"We see the accusations as groundless. No evidence that these drones are of Russian origin has been presented," Andrey Ordash, Russia's charge d'affaires in Poland, was quoted as saying.
Ukraine’s usual suspect
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged at least eight Russian drones had been aimed at Poland, with at least two entering Polish territory via Belarus.
Poland said it detected a number of airspace violations overnight, with many originating from Belarus.
It confirmed shooting down three drones and said it was likely that a fourth had been destroyed.
The last drone was downed at 0445 GMT, it said.
Belarus
Belarus on Wednesday said it shot down drones that went astray during overnight Russian and Ukrainian attacks.
Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveiko, in a video statement shared by the Defense Ministry, said its forces continuously tracked drones that went astray due to the use of electronic warfare.
“Some of the lost drones were destroyed by our country's Air Defense Forces over the territory of the republic,” Muraveiko said, without specifying the number of drones.
It remains unclear if the drones that Belarus shot down were from Russia or Ukraine.
Muraveiko’s remarks came as both Russia and Ukraine exchanged claims about overnight strikes.
Moscow claimed intercepting 122 Ukrainian drones, while Kiev claimed downing 386 Russian drones and 27 missiles.
Poland consults NATO
Poland asked NATO on Wednesday to open consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which states that members of the Western military alliance will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence, or security of any of them is threatened.
Polish officials said they were unable to say immediately whether any of the drones had been targeting the capital, Warsaw, a western Ukraine aid logistics hub in southeastern Poland or any NATO infrastructure.
NATO chief Mark Rutte hailed his organisation's "very successful reaction", telling journalists the alliance's air defences had done their job.
He slammed Moscow's "reckless behaviour" and called on Putin to halt a war that he said was now being waged on civilians.
EU calls for more sanctions on Russia
European officials described the drone incursion as Russia’s deliberate attempt to escalate.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said early indications suggested the drones entered European airspace intentionally.
"The drones were taken down, so that means that we are able to defend ourselves, but it's clear that we need to do more," Kallas told reporters.
"What happened in Poland is a game-changer. We have to have a very strong response," she said.
"Russia is deliberately escalating. We have to be very firm."
Kallas stressed the need to push on with more sanctions against Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also called for increased sanctions on Russia.
Nord Stream deja vu
The multi-billion-dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in September 2022.
Even though Ukraine and its European allies were quick to blame Russia for the sabotage, months later, it was reported by The New York Times that suspicions of Ukrainian involvement had arisen; US intelligence had reviewed evidence suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the blasts.
In August this year, Italian police arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
At the time, Kiev was urging its Western allies to ramp up supplies of high-end weapons to drive back Russian forces as the war entered its second year.
In November 2022, an explosion in the Polish village of Przewodow initially raised fears of a Russian strike that could have triggered NATO's collective defence clause, Article 5, but it was later found to be caused by a Ukrainian air-defence missile.
