Poland says it shot down Russian drones after airspace violation

Poland shot down Russian drones over its airpsace early on Wednesday, the Polish armed forces said, marking the first time Warsaw has engaged Russian assets since the Ukraine war began.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said the country's "airspace was repeatedly violated by drones", adding "weapons have been used, and operations are underway to locate the downed targets".

Nato and Polish jets were scrambled as Russia launched a drone-and-missile attack on Ukraine close to the Polish border.

Four airports in Poland, including the Chopin Airport in Warsaw, were closed due to "military activity", according to the US Federal Aviation Administration's website.

In addition to Chopin Airport, the other three closed airports were the Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport, the Warsaw Modlin Airport, and the Lublin airport, the FAA notices showed.

The president and prime minister of Poland have been notified as an operation to neutralise objects that have violated Polish airspace is underway, Polish defence minister Cezary Tomczyk said on X.

"All the services are active," he said.

Earlier, Poland's military said jets had been scrambled in response to the attacks near its border.

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," the operational command of the Polish armed forces said in a post on X.

The latest attack comes days after Russia launched its biggest air assault of the war on Kyiv so far, hitting the main government building in the capital, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was a "ruthless" attack aimed at prolonging the war.