NATO air defences helped counter drones that entered Polish airspace overnight and alliance chief Mark Rutte is in contact with Warsaw, a NATO spokesperson said on Wednesday.
"Numerous drones entered Polish airspace overnight and were met with Polish and NATO air defences. The NATO Secretary General is in touch with Polish leadership and NATO is consulting closely with Poland," spokesperson Allison Hart wrote on X.
Hart said NATO ambassadors were holding a regular meeting Wednesday morning and "will discuss how NATO responded to the drones that entered Poland overnight."
Russian forces launched more than 400 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, after Poland announced it had scrambled air defences to intercept "hostile objects."
The Ukrainian air force said Moscow had launched 415 drones and 43 missiles in the attack that Ukrainian officials said left at least one dead.
Air defence units downed 386 drones and 27 missiles, the air force added.
‘Dangerous precedent’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that eight Russian drones were "aimed toward" Poland in an overnight barrage launched by Moscow that forced Warsaw to scramble air defences.
"It was not just one Shahed that could be called an accident, but at least eight strike drones aimed toward Poland," Zelenskyy said, referring to Iranian-designed drones deployed by Moscow, adding that the incident represented "An extremely dangerous precedent for Europe."
‘Drone wall’
The European Union must develop a "drone wall" along the eastern flank of its shared borders, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said following the downing of Russian drones over Poland.
"Once again Russia tests frontier states, EU & NATO," Kubilius wrote in a post on social media platform X. "We shall work together with Member States, frontier countries and Ukraine. Russia will be stopped."
