Polish authorities temporarily closed Warsaw Chopin Airport and placed the country’s air defenses on high alert overnight on Sept. 10, following reports that Russian drones have entered Polish airspace during a wave of overnight air strikes on Ukraine.
The Polish Armed Forces’ Operational Command said it had activated all necessary procedures to protect national airspace and scrambled both Polish and NATO aircraft in response to the potential threat.
"During today’s Russian strikes on targets in Ukraine, Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by drone-type objects," Polish Air Force said. "Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of high alert" and an operation is underway to locate and neutralize the drones.
Authorities urged residents in the Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin Voivodeship (provinces) to stay indoors, warning that the military operation remains ongoing.
Lublin Voivodeship borders Ukraine directly; Podlaskie is about 50–70 kilometers (30-43 miles) from the border at its closest point, while Mazowieckie is located roughly 120–150 kilometers (75-93 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
A notice published on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website confirmed that Warsaw’s main international airport was temporarily unavailable due to "unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security."
U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson called the incident an "act of war."
Earlier that night, Ukraine’s Air Force reported on Telegram that Russian drones were moving westward and posed a potential threat to Zamość, located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The post was later deleted.
Some Ukrainian media outlets also reported that drones were heading toward Rzeszów, a key logistics hub in southeastern Poland. The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the reports.
The developments come amid one of Russia’s largest aerial assaults in recent weeks, targeting multiple Ukrainian regions and prompting alerts in neighboring countries.
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