Hello and welcome to this live blog. Here you can follow all developments around the war in Ukraine. In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Poland shot Russian drones that were on the way to Ukraine.
The Netherlands will not send air defense to Poland earlier after the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones. Outliamentary Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense, VVD) announced this on Friday. After the incident, the Polish government asked for extra defenses. Patriot rockets are too expensive to fire cheap drones anyway.
The Ministry of Defense sends two patriot systems, a NASAMS airface weather system and antidone systems to Poland. They are operational there from December 1 for six months. They will protect a logistics junction for helping Ukraine. “A careful planning is behind that,” says Brekelmans after the Council of Ministers. “We take over from the Germans.”
Kremlin: Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia ‘on a break’ according to the Kremlin are the peace negotiations with Ukraine “on a break”. The Russian government states that European countries are opposing negotiations, but that Russia is open to it.
The negotiations between the fighting countries have been on a dead end for some time. President Trump’s encounters with Putin and Zensky last month did not result in a ceasefire or peace agreement, while Russian bombing on Ukraine continues unabated. Last weekend, for example, a Ukrainian government building in Kyiv was hit by a large Russian air raid. According to Ukraine, a record number of drones and rockets were used. On Tuesday, 21 people died in a bombing in the Donetsk region. Several Western leaders are therefore not convinced of Putin’s wish for peace.
NATO chef Rutte gives the NATO chef Mark Rutte press conference at 5 p.m. at 5 p.m. together with the highest soldier of NATO in Europe, Alexus Gynkewich, a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. They are expected to give more clarity about the drone incident above Poland earlier this week.
Grynkewich said on Thursday that it was uncertain whether the drones were “consciously or unconsciously” flew above Poland.
Poland contradicts Trump: drones were not a ‘mistake’ Poland goes against the claim of US President Donald Trump that the swarm of Russian drones that has flown into Poland may have been a mistake. We would have liked that too, says Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “But it wasn’t. And we know that.”
Trump said on Thursday that the violation of the airspace could be based on an error. “But anyway, I am not happy with everything that has to do with that whole condition.”
France also summarizes Russian ambassador, following, among others, the Netherlands, France summarizes the Russian ambassador because of the drone incident. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot says to tell the ambassador “that we don’t let ourselves be intimidated”.
“Whether it was intentional or not, accidentally or not, it is very serious in all cases. This is all absolutely unacceptable. All this comes on top of the countless provocations of Vladimir Putin,” says Barrot. On Thursday, President Macron announced that France is sending three fighter jets to Poland for the defense of the airspace.
Military exercises Russia and Belarus from Start Russia and Belarus started today with a large -scale military exercise. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the exercises take place in the Minsk region and in the Baltic Sea and Barents Sea. They are expected to last until 16 September and around 30,000 soldiers participate, say Western observers. According to Moscow, the exercise, Zapad-2025 (‘the Westen-2025’) is a long-planned routine that nobody has the target.
Even before this week’s drone incident, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the exercise as “very aggressive”. Poland therefore closed the border with Belarus last night. Lithuania says he monitored the border with Belarus.
In 2022, Russia and Belarus last did a large -scale military exercise. Then a lot more soldiers were involved. It was a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Poland mentions Russian drone-infall harvesting exercises in Belarus The Russian drone-raid in Wednesday’s airspace was a “kind of harbinger” of the upcoming Russian military exercises in Belarus, says the head of the Polish National Security Office Thursday.
Macron sends three aircraft to help with Poland France protection sends three extra combat aircraft to Poland to help protect the Polish airspace and the eastern border of NATO. The French President Macron announces that on X. Macron has ordered him to send three Rafales. “The safety of the European continent has our highest priority. We will not admit to the increasing intimidation by Russia.”
Macron has already discussed the extra aircraft today with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO-Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Where the planes go and when, the French president does not mention.
Germany is going to help Polish airspace to guard Germany after flying in Russian drones into Poland will help to guard the airspace of the neighboring country. The air patrol emission that German Eurofighters have already carried out in recent months is “extended and expanded”, the government said in Berlin.
Germany already has Patriot air defense systems in Poland. Now the country is doubling the number of Eurofighter combat aircraft from two to four, reports the Ministry of Defense. In any case, they will continue to secure Polish airspace until the end of this year. Earlier there were five of those devices stationed in Poland, but that mission is just over.
UN Security Council talks tomorrow about drones in Poland The UN Security Council will meet tomorrow to talk about the drones that have invaded Polish airspace. Chairman South Korea reports that the consultation starts at 9 p.m. (Dutch time).
Polish President Karol Nawrocki had asked the council to rush to consider the issue. He states that “the Russian provocation was nothing more than an attempt to test our capacities, our ability to respond”. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier today that the UN Security Council would meet, but did not yet report when.
Polish representatives to Ukraine for training Drones Polish military representatives go to Ukraine for training in downing drones. This is reported by a source that is familiar with the case at Reuters news agency.
A damaged drone was last night in a field in the Eastern pool village of Czosnówka.
Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine want better cooperation with air defense Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine want to work better together in the field of air defense. They think that is necessary to parry the “Russian aggression,” say the foreign ministers of the three countries after the Russian violation of Polish airspace. In a joint explanation, they emphasize the “need for better coordination and operational cooperation of our structures responsible for air safety”. The aim is to make air defense more efficient and to “prevent the negative consequences of outrageous Russian deeds”. Ukraine already offered yesterday to share everything the country knows about incoming drones with Poles and Lithuania, which also borders Russia. Further acceleration is complicated because NATO does not want to actively mix in the war in Ukraine.
Van Weel calls Russian ambassador on the Matje Outfit David Van Weel (Foreign Affairs) the Russian ambassador to account for the Russian drones in Poland in the Netherlands. The diplomat spoke with a senior official from the Ministry of Defense around 12.30, said Van Weel prior to a parliamentary debate. “There he was told that this is unacceptable.”
Several countries, including Spain, Romania and the Baltic states, have called the Russian ambassador to the mat.
Russia tested reaction capacity of Poland and NATO in the Russia drone attack wanted to test the response of Poland and NATO by flying through the Polish airspace with drones, says Polish President Karol Nawrocki. The allies brought down several Russian drones above Poland on Wednesday who were on the way to Ukraine.
Finnish Prime Minister Orpo: ‘US must participate in the Ukraine safety plan’ The United States must participate in a safety plan for Ukraine, according to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. 26 countries from the so -called Coalition of the Willing are willing to send troops to Ukraine if there is a peace agreement with Russia. But the role of the Americans is still unclear.
Orpo’s statement comes just before the visit of Finnish President Alexander Stubb to KYIV. There he speaks with his Ukrainian colleague Volodyymyr Zensky. They deal with safety projects, European integration, infrastructure investments and security guarantees.
Poland will limit air traffic along Eastern border Poland in the coming months will have introduced restrictions for air traffic along the East Borders with Belarus and Ukraine. From sunrise to sunset, flights in the limitation zone are prohibited. The measure applies from 11 September to 9 December, reports the Polish aviation agency.
There is an exception to manned aircraft that fly according to a flight plan and that maintain communication with the aviation authorities. An exception also applies to military flights and flights with special purposes.
Schoof speaks with Polish Prime Minister Tusk outgoing Prime Minister Schoof has repeated in a telephone conversation with the Polish Prime Minister Tusk that the Netherlands remains “shoulder to shoulder” with Poland. “In word and in deed,” said Schoof. Tusk has expressed his gratitude for the deployment of the Dutch F-35 beam hunters. They landed in Poland at the end of August to protect the NATO air space above Eastern Europe for three months together with Norway.
Zensky wants European immune system “we have to work on joint air defense and make an effective immune system over Europe,” says Zensky. Ukraine would have made that proposal “long ago”. “We have to respond together to all challenges and be prepared for potential dangers for all Europeans in the future.”
Polish couple follows Russian drones via TV, but then the own house is hit A drone hit the roof of a Polish couple on Wednesday morning, while the man was following a news broadcast about the violations of Polish airspace. “Suddenly a bang sounded and the lamps from the ceiling fell down in the living room,” he tells Reuters news agency.
Poland is offered from several European countries to strengthen an aerial weather Poland has already received concrete proposals from several countries to strengthen the aerial weather in the country, writes Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on X. “In my conversations today I not only received expressions of solidarity with Poland, but especially proposals for concrete support for the air defense of our country, writes. He spoke with, among others, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and also the Netherlands.
Polish soldiers are looking for remains of shot drones in the village of Wohyn, in eastern Poland. The Polish army took several Russian drones last night after they had violated the airspace. Dutch F-35s helped with this.
Russia calls conscious violation of Polish airspace ‘a myth’ The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls it “a myth” that Russian drones would have deliberately violated Polish airspace in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The embassy in Warsaw also calls the accusations of Poland and NATO “unfounded”. According to the ambassador there is no evidence that the drones came from Russia. Moscow said earlier that Poland was not a target, but that a large -scale attack in western Ukraine was planned.
Poland asks NATO for extra air defense The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has asked NATO to increase air defense in the country. That is what the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski said. According to Sikorski, the violation of Polish airspace by Russia was intentionally and planned. He spoke of an “unseen attack on NATO and the EU”.
The police and the army inspect the damage to a house damaged by rubble of a shot Russian drone in the village of Wyryki Wola.
Trump is still speaking with Polish President Nawrocki today The American President Donald Trump has a conversation with Polish President Karol Nawocki later today. Reuters news agency reports this on the basis of a representative of the White House. The conservative and nationalist Nawrocki is considered an ally of Trump. He visited the White House earlier this month.
Fico and Orbán express support for Poland, but do not point to Moscow according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has the incident with drones above Polish airspace “far -reaching consequences”, but must first be determined who drdens the drones. He also wants to know whether the incident was intentional or accidental. According to Poland and NATO, they were Russian drones that penetrated the Polish airspace and were subsequently taken down.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was also vaguely about who is responsible for the violation of Polish airspace. He did speak his solidarity with Poland. Orbán also said that “a life in the shadow of war is risky and dangerous”. He therefore calls a peace deal “reasonable and rational”.
Fico and Orbán are the only EU leaders who maintain warm ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both visited Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
EU-BuitenlandChef Kallas: ‘What happened in Poland is a tipping point’ according to EU-Buitenland chef Kallas shows the drones in Poland that Europe can defend itself. “But it is clear that we have to do more,” Kallas tells reporters. She indicates efforts to strengthen defense, but today does not respond to what should be done further.
“What happened in Poland is a turning point,” says Kallas. “We must have a very strong answer. Russia is deliberately escalating.” The foreign chief also finds it important that there are more sanctions against Russia.
Russia: Poland no target drones, willing to consult the Russian Ministry of Defense says that Poland was not a target of drone attacks. The country is willing to consult with the Polish Ministry of Defense about last night’s incident.
Polish prime minister about shot drones: ‘situation is very serious’
Russia does not want to give a response yet the Kremlin refuses to comment on the events of tonight in Poland for the time being. It says that the Ministry of Defense must do that.
The Russian diplomat in Poland said earlier today that Poland would have no evidence for the claim that it is Russian drones. Later he said that it would be about Ukrainian drones.
Rutte: ‘Show that we can defend ourselves “ Rutte says that we saw” a successful reaction from NATO “last night, referring to the action of, among others, Polish and Dutch fighter jets to bring down the Russian drones. “We have shown that we are able to defend NATO territory and air space.”
Rutte: ‘It is clear that this is not an isolated event’ NATO chef Mark Rutte is currently giving a press conference about the events of tonight. “NATO condemns Russia’s reckless and dangerous behavior and has expressed support to Poland. We are still investigating the incident. It is clear that this is not a insistent event,” he says. “Allies are determined to defend all our limits.”
“This only shows how important the alliance is. We have to produce more to defend ourselves and support Ukraine,” Rutte emphasizes.
Several European countries have condemned the Russian violation of Polish airspace with drones and expressed their support to Poland. “Unacceptable,” say, among others, outgoing Prime Minister Dick Schoof and French President Emmanuel Macron about the escalation. Reading
Poland: ‘Seven drones and parts of rocket found’ Poland says they have found seven drones and parts of a rocket. A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior says it is a “rocket of unknown origin”.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier that nineteen drones had violated the airspace and that four had been brought down. Possibly other drones themselves have fallen down, but there are no precise figures yet.
Starmer calls Russia ‘extremely reckless’ performance The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones is very concerned. “This was an extremely reckless performance by Russia,” he says. Starmer had contact this morning to make British support to Poland clear.
Von der Leyen gets great applause: ‘Europe is completely behind Poland’
NATO: First time we eliminated the danger in our airspace, the Dutch F-35s used against Russian drones in Poland have a scoop, says NATO. It is the first time that NATO aircraft have tackled “potential threats in the airspace of the Alliance”, says NATO’s military headquarters in Europe.
In addition to the F-35s, a probably Dutch tank plane also came into action. Polish F-16s and an Italian Awacs aircraft also helped to follow the drones and in some cases switch off. An AWACS plane is full of radars and sensors.
A house in Wyriki, in the east of Poland, was hit by a drone down.
Russian diplomat at the Matje in Poland The Russian news agency Ria reports that the Russian Chargé d’Affaires, a diplomat who leads a diplomatic mission in the absence of an ambassador, has been called on the mat in Poland.
The diplomat, Andrey Ordash, tells the news agency that Poland has not yet provided any evidence to be able to state that the drones were Russian.
Brekelmans confirms deployment of Dutch F-35’s Dutch F-35s have taken Shahed drones from the air. Opinionary Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans (VVD) has just confirmed this.
It is still being investigated whether the Russian violation of Polish airspace was intentional. “But the fact that it is several drones, of course it makes it extra suspicious.”
In his speech to the Parliament, Tusk further says that he hopes for more support from allies. “Poland needs more than expressions of solidarity,” he says. He emphasizes that he sees that other NATO countries take the events of last night seriously.
Poland is not after war, says Tusk. But “we are in a situation closest to an armed conflict since the Second World War”.
Outgoing Prime Minister Schoof has also responded to the situation in Poland.
Poland asks NATO to meet quickly Poland asks NATO to activate Article 4. A country usually does that when it feels threatened. In that case, NATO will meet in the short term. There was already a normal NATO meeting on the schedule today. He will now be completely about the events of the past hours.
Sources within NATO already informed Reuters that NATO does not see the Russian action as an attack. That means that Article 5 does not in any case apply. He means that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all.
Tusk says that four drones have been brought down The Polish Prime Minister Tusk is currently speaking to parliament. He reports that nineteen violations of the Polish airspace took place last night. The majority of the drones came from Belarus.
Four drones have been brought down, the last of which at 6.45 am this morning.
Russian infringements of the NATO air space with drones are unacceptable and pose a threat to Europe’s safety. That says outgoing foreign minister David van Weel (VVD) on X. “The Netherlands is square behind Poland. NATO must remain ready and stricter sanctions must put the war economy of Russia under greater pressure.”
For the time being, no airports from Choplin Airport in Warsaw are leaving.
Belarus says he has warned Poland about Drones ‘from Koers’ Belarus says that it has warned Poland and Lithuania about drones that had come out of course. According to the Belarussian Ministry of Defense, Poland was able to respond quickly. Belarus does not want to say which country the drones came from.
Poland, in turn, would have warned Belarus about unknown objects from Ukraine.
Polish president calls National Security Council together the Polish President Karol Nawrocki wants the National Security Council to meet within 48 hours. The expectation is that at that time more information will come out about what happened in Poland last night, he says.
Von der Leyen: 6 billion euros for drones for Ukraine Europe leads 6 billion euros to Ukraine for producing more drones. The EU is also a drone alliance with Ukraine, Von der Leyen announces. That decision was already taken before the Russian action in Poland last night.
Drones are of great importance in the war against Russia, says Von der Leyen. “Before the war, Ukraine had none. What it needs now is scale.” The advance is part of a new program that announced Von der Leyen, which is called ‘qualitative military benefit’. This supports investments in the Ukrainian army.
Von der Leyen: Europe is completely behind Poland Europe is completely solidarity with Poland, says Ursula von der Leyen during a speech in the European Parliament. The chairman of the European Commission calls the Russian action a “reckless and unprecedented” violation of Polish airspace.
Poland has been able to bring down the Russian drones with the help of Dutch F-35s. The fighter jets landed in Poland at the end of August with the aim of protecting NATO air space over Eastern Europe for three months with Norway.
A week ago, the fighter jets already rose after a report by Russian Shahed drones, which was a threat for NATO territory. Weapon deployment was then not necessary.
NATO discusses Russian drones at normal meeting NATO discusses the Russian drones for the time being in a normal meeting. Poland can ask for emergency consultations and make an official appeal to the 31 alliance alliance, but there is no question yet.
“The Northern Atlantic Council meets this morning for a regular session and will discuss how NATO answers the drones that came in last night,” said NATO chef Mark Rutte’s spokesperson. In this council, the NATO countries, in this case their ambassadors, send the alliance.
EU BuitenlandChef Kallas and NATO-Bron speak of EU-BuitenlandChef Kaja Kallas intentionally says that there were indications that there was intent in the Russian action. A source within NATO says the same to Reuters news agency. NATO would nevertheless not see the action as an attack.
Kallas also says that the EU is behind Poland. She states on X that “Russia’s war escalates and does not end”. She argues for more measures against Russia, more support for Ukraine and investments in European defense.
Tusk: ‘Poland will respond to attacks and provocations’ Poland is ready to respond to any attacks or provocations, Prime Minister Tusk just said. “We are dealing with a large -scale provocation … We are ready to ward off such provocations. The situation is serious and nobody doubts that we have to prepare for different scenarios.”
Reader question: Why do Russian drones fly over Poland? A number of nu.nl readers wonders why Russian drones fly over Poland. After all, Poland is west and Russia east of Ukraine. A detour does not seem very logical. But there is a reason for that, says Defense expert Patrick Bolder to Nu.nl.
“Through this detour, drones attack from an unexpected direction. They look for weaknesses in the air defense,” he explains. “Moreover, it is a test of the red line of Poland and therefore NATO. It is also an expression of control that Russia carries out on the West. The message is aimed at the population: stop supporting Ukraine, otherwise you will also be at war.”
Tusk speaks of ‘huge number of Russian drones’ the Polish prime minister Tusk writes on X that Polish airspace was violated last night by “a huge number of Russian drones”. “The drones that formed a direct threat were shot.”
Tusk repeats that he is constantly in contact with NATO chef Rutte and Polish allies.
According to Zensky, eight drones flew over Poland The Ukrainian President Volodyymyr Zenskyy claims that a total of eight drones had violated Polish airspace. According to the president, it is about Russian -Iranian Shahed drones. These are unmanned drones that are meant to attack goals on the ground.
“Moscow is constantly looking for boundaries,” says Zensky on X. “This creates an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe. The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must realize that the war cannot be expanded and must be terminated.”
Drone is a residential building in the east of Poland a drone crashed on a residential building in Wyruki in eastern Poland, reports the commercial Polish broadcaster Polstat News on the basis of the local police. No one would have been injured.
Polish Army thanks the Netherlands and NATO for help with Operation The Polish army thanks on X the Dutch Air Force and NATO for the use of F-35 jet hunters in down the drones. “Thank you for helping to guarantee safety in the Polish airspace.”
Other airports open again, only Lublin remains closed next to Chopin airport in Warsaw are also the airports Modlin (also in Warsaw) and Rzeszów (near the city with the same name). The airport in Lublin will remain closed for the time being, the Polish aviation authorities report.
‘Intercepting operation’ ended, the search for wreckage is going through the Polish army says that the “operations with regard to violations of the Polish airspace have been completed”, but that the search for crashed drones and the place where they have taken passed through.
In a message on X, residents of Poland are called upon not to touch or approach unknown objects or debris. The army warns that these dangerous substances can contain.
Foreign Minister Lithuania shows solidarity with Poland Kestutis Bdrys, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, says that his country is “completely solidarity” with Poland. On X Budys writes that the air defense of NATO countries must be strengthened.
“The reality is that no country is safe – not even within NATO – as long as Putin continues this bloody war against Ukraine.” He argues for sanctions that will affect the Russian economy. “Putin will not stop unless we stop.”
Airspace above Warsaw airport open again, no flights yet the airspace above Chopin airport in Warsaw is open again, the airport just reports on Facebook. “Due to the current situation you can suffer from disruptions and delays that last all day. The airport remains open, but there are currently no flights.”
Ukrainian foreign minister: “Putin continues to escalate” the Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha says that the Russian action “demonstrate the impunity of President Vladimir Putin”. “Putin continues to escalate, expand the war and steal the west to the test,” writes Sybiha on X.
He argues for the use of air defense systems in countries around Ukraine to bring down drones and rockets in Ukrainian airspace. He also asks allies for more support for the Ukrainian air defense system.
Tusk has contact with NATO chef about Polish action De Polish Prime Minister Tusk says he has contact with NATO chef Mark Rutte. “I have informed NATO’s Secretary General of the current situation and the action we have taken against the objects that have violated our airspace,” writes Tusk on X. “We have constant contact.”
Polish police reports discovery drone the police in it