Russian drones in Poland, Mattarella: 'Ridge towards the abyss as in July 1914'

'Why is Russia violating Polish airspace with drones? Here we go again." Thus Donald Trump in a post on Truth social, in his first comment on what happened in the night.

"Last night in Poland the most serious violation of European airspace since the beginning of the war took place: a deliberate attack with more than 20 Russian drones. An unacceptable act that I strongly condemn, with a dual purpose: to provoke and to test. Moscow is deliberately fuelling an escalation that nobody wants. It is clear that it has no interest in a truce and peace'. Thus Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on X.

"I express my closeness to my counterpart Kosiniak-Kamysz and to all the Polish people: Italy, together with NATO allies, stands by Poland and every nation in the Atlantic Alliance in defence of security and peace," Crosetto added.

Italy 'confirms the offer' made to the coalition of the willing to guarantee Ukraine's security, 'with our caveats' that exclude a military presence on the ground. This was said by Guido Crosetto, after an E5 ministerial meeting in London. Meeting in which 'hybrid war' was also discussed. "Russia is also at war with us" in this respect, added the Defence Minister, highlighting Italy's commitment against "hacker attacks" and "the war on information" blamed on Moscow: attacks "on our democracies that are no different" from the military ones of which "we see evidence every day against Ukraine".

According to Adnkronos, the Italian Air Force's Gulfstream G550 are the Italian reconnaissance aircraft that have gone into action in the operation to respond to the incursion of Russian drones into Polish skies. The aircraft, available at the Pratica di Mare airport, are equipped with Awacs capabilities, and are therefore able to monitor the airspace and beyond while in flight. The Caew (Conformal Airborne Early Warning, Italian designation E-550A) aircraft is the most advanced multi-sensor system with airborne surveillance, command, control and communications functions in service in the European air force. A huge 'flying radar' with a wingspan of 28.5 metres, it is capable of ensuring an adequate extension of airspace surveillance capability. At the heart of the Caew is the Elta EL/W-2085 electronically scanning radar system, integrated with additional electronic systems to provide high real-time, 360°, long range 'situational awareness'. The mission system has Maritime Patrol and Battlefield Management capabilities, thanks to compatibility with the Rover systems of personnel deployed ashore or on the sea surface. With the capacity to take on almost 19 tonnes of fuel, it can remain on target for long periods of time depending on mission parameters, with the ability to reach a maximum speed of 941 km/h. In recent months, the Air Force is engaged with different types of aircraft in the 'Baltic Eagle III' operation in Estonia to safeguard the airspace of the Atlantic Alliance's eastern borders, as part of the NATO Enhanced Air Policing mission. The Task Force Air is stationed at Ämari Airport, a few kilometres from Tallinn.

Merz: 'Moscow put lives at risk in EU and NATO'

"Russia endangered lives in a NATO and EU member state. This reckless action is part of a long series of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and on NATO's eastern flank. The Federal Government condemns this aggressive action by Russia in the strongest possible terms'. This was written in a statement by German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also emphasising that Poland, together with its NATO allies, 'was able to recognise and avert this danger in good time'. "Nato is and remains ready for defence," he concluded.

The Russian Defence Ministry, on the other hand, spoke of a 'massive attack' against enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky and Zhitomir regions, as well as in Vinnytsia and Lviv, explaining that 'all targets were hit'. Moscow added that 'the range of the drones used, which allegedly crossed the border into Poland, does not exceed 700 km'.

The Russian Defence Ministry also states that it is 'ready' for 'consultations' with the Polish Defence Ministry and claims that the Kremlin's armed forces had no targets on Polish territory. Tass reports.

During the night, planes took to the air, targeting at least ten drones. The planes fired at 'hostile objects', Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said. "We are in permanent contact with the Nato command," the minister said in a message on X, referring to "downed drones". An Italian surveillance aircraft was also involved in the Polish airspace protection operation. This was reported by the Supreme Command of Allied Forces in Europe (Shape).

The Polish Defence Minister cut short his visit to London, where he was supposed to attend a meeting of the Defence Ministers of the Group of Five E5 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK), to return to Warsaw. This was reported by the Polish broadcaster Tvp Info.

In another message posted on X, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was in 'permanent contact' with the Ministry of Defence and had received a direct report from the operational commander. The head of government convened an emergency meeting of the government, while Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he would shortly lead an emergency meeting of the National Security Bureau, in the presence of Prime Minister Tusk. "Since the cases of violations of Poland's airspace occurred, I have been in constant contact with the deputy prime minister, the defence minister and the main commanders of the Armed Forces," he wrote on X. "I took part in a briefing at the Armed Forces Operations Command. I will shortly lead a briefing which will also be attended by the Head of Government. The security of our homeland is the top priority and requires close cooperation." The extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers is scheduled for 8 a.m. Ahead of the meeting, the Polish government announced, Tusk is consulting with key defence and security ministers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced that he had been alerted to the situation.

"The first airspace violation was recorded around 11.30pm on Tuesday, the last one around 6.30am on Wednesday. There were 19 violations, but these are not the final figures'. This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaking in the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament. "For the first time, the drones that violated Polish airspace came directly from Belarus and not from Ukraine," he said. "There is no reason to say that we are in a state of war, but there is no doubt that this provocation is incomparably more dangerous from Poland's point of view than previous ones," Tusk stressed.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Poland will invoke Article 4 of NATO, calling for formal consultation within the alliance, a move agreed between him and President Karol Nawrocki. The article establishes a mechanism for consultation between the parties to the treaty in the event of a threat to the territorial integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties. "The consultations with the allies took the form of a formal request to activate Article 4 of NATO," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk explained, speaking to the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament.

"The shooting down of the drones that directly threatened our security is a success of our armed forces and those of NATO, but it also changes the political situation," the prime minister explained during the briefing at the Sejm. Tusk expressed gratitude for the "words of solidarity and support from all allies" adding, however, that "at a time like this it is not enough". "Today we have to say it loud and clear to the entire Western world, to all our allies: Article 4 is just the introduction to deeper cooperation for the security of our skies and our borders, which are the borders of NATO," Tusk said, emphasising that "during consultations, both under Article 4 and in political consultations between capitals, we will expect much greater support".

The drones that violated the airspace are "just one part of a large-scale operation", the premier said, referring then to the Russian-Belarusian Zapad military exercises described as "very aggressive" that will begin on Friday. "Today our common task - and it must be in the near future as well - is the full mobilisation of the entire West so that Poland never again finds itself in a situation where we seemed to have real alliances and then it turned out that they were paper alliances," Tusk warned.

"The first signs," he concluded, "show that the prime ministers, the presidents of the NATO states truly understand that this is also their problem", that the war in Ukraine "is also their war". The premier then confirmed that the airports in Modlin, Warsaw, Rzeszów and Lublin had resumed operations after being "temporarily closed during the night to ensure freedom of movement of the air force and to prepare for allied support".

"My message to Vladimir Putin is clear: stop the war in Ukraine, stop the escalation of war that is now basically affecting innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure, stop violating the allies' airspace and know that we are ready, that we are vigilant and that we will defend every inch of Nato territory." This was said by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. What happened last night "shows that we need to invest more in defence to deter and defend," Rutte said. "The violation of Poland's airspace by Russia last night is not an isolated incident," he added.

Belarus: drones entering our territory shot down

"During the overnight exchange of drone attacks between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the air defence forces and resources of the republic of Belarus on duty constantly monitored drones that had lost their way due to the impact of the parties' electronic warfare resources. Some of the lost drones were destroyed by our country's air defence forces on the territory of the republic,' the Belarusian Chief of Staff, Pavel Muraveiko, was quoted by the press office of the Belarusian Defence Ministry as saying. This was reported by the Interfax news agency.

The Belarusian general claims that Minsk warned Poland and Lithuania 'of the approach of unidentified aircraft to the territory of their countries' and that this allowed the Polish side to respond promptly to the drones' actions by raising its forces in the air'. According to Muraveiko, Poland in turn 'informed the Belarusian combat units on duty of the presence of unidentified aircraft approaching the border of the republic of Belarus from the territory of Ukraine'.

A Russian drone hit a house in the town of Wyryki Wola in the Lublin region, on the border with Russia and Belarus. Polsat News reported that the roof and car park of the building were damaged. No one was reportedly injured. Mayor Mariusz Zanko states that 'people heard the explosion and also saw Polish fighters. The situation is quite difficult and worrying; there is really great concern among the residents'.

The incursion into Polish airspace occurred during the night-time Russian drone attack on Ukraine. This was stated by the Ukrainian Air Force. An air alert was declared throughout the country. Explosions occurred in the regions of Lviv, Kiev, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Frankivsk.

"The North Atlantic Council meets this morning for a regular session and will discuss NATO's response to the drones that entered Poland overnight". This was made known by the Alliance spokeswoman. "Numerous drones entered Polish airspace overnight and were intercepted by Polish and Nato air defences. The Secretary General is in contact with the Polish leadership and Nato is consulting closely with Poland'.

Russia launched 415 drones and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles against various regions of Ukraine, 413 air targets were shot down. This was stated by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported by the Ukrainian media.

One person was killed and another injured during a joint Russian attack in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kiev, tonight. This was stated by President Vitaliy Bunechko on Telegram, picked up by Ukrainska Pravda, after a Russian bomb made raid of civilians queuing for retirement in Donetsk yesterday.

In questa foto fornita dai servizi di emergenza ucraini mercoledì 10 settembre 2025, i soccorritori spengono un incendio in una casa distrutta da un attacco russo su un quartiere residenziale nella regione di Zhytomyr, in Ucraina. (Servizio di emergenza ucraino via AP)

Russian President Vladimir "Putin is testing the West'' and will continue to do so "if there is no strong response'' to his actions. This was stated on 'X' by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha commenting on the Russian drone incursion into Poland's airspace. Kiev then called on Europe to give a "strong response" to prevent similar violations from happening again. "Putin continues to escalate, widen his war and test the West,'' the Ukrainian foreign minister said. "A weak response today will only further provoke Russia, and Russian missiles and drones will fly even further into Europe," he added.

For its part, Moscow says that tonight the air defence forces destroyed and intercepted 122 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Black Sea. This was reported by the Tass news agency, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

"Last night in Poland we witnessed the most serious violation of European airspace by Russia since the beginning of the war, and indications suggest that it was intentional, not accidental. I am in contact with the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, and the Polish Deputy Prime Minister, Radek Sikorski. The EU expresses its full solidarity with Poland'.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, writes this on X. "Russia's war," she adds, "is intensifying, it is not ending. We must increase the costs for Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine and invest in European defence. The EU plays a key role and will support initiatives such as the Eastern Border Shield defence line'.

"I express, on behalf of the Italian government, full solidarity with Poland for the serious and unacceptable violation by Russia of Polish airspace and the Atlantic Alliance," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. "Italy will continue to work to ensure European security, starting with that of Ukraine, and for the achievement of a just and lasting peace."

"I strongly condemn the violation of Polish territory by Russian drones: a very serious and unacceptable fact, which is an offence to the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area". Thus Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. "Italy expresses its full solidarity with Poland, a friendly and allied country, reaffirming its commitment to the defence of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Any provocation must be firmly and unitedly rejected by Europe".