Poland shoots down Russian drones that violated its airspace during Ukraine attack

Poland’s military said it scrambled its own and NATO allied air defenses to shoot down Russian drones on Wednesday after they crossed from neighboring Ukraine, the first time in the Ukraine war that Warsaw has engaged Russian assets in its airspace.

Poland said a number of Russian drones entered its airspace during an attack on Ukraine early Wednesday and were shot down with the help of NATO allies, a first since Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Leaders across Europe condemned the incident as the latest sign of escalation from the Kremlin, which has rebuffed President Donald Trump's bid to broker peace talks.

Russia labeled the accusations “groundless" and said it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had attacked the “military-industrial complex of Ukraine” in a "large-scale strike" but that "there were no targets envisioned for destruction on the Polish territory," pointing to the flight range of the drones it said it used against western Ukraine.

It said it was "ready to hold consultations with the Polish Ministry of Defense on this matter."