Airspace Shut Down in Poland as Russia Launches Fresh Strikes; NATO Reinforces Baltic Region

On Sunday, a section of Polish airspace, situated southeast of the capital, was temporarily closed due to “unplanned military activity,” coinciding with a new series of Russian attacks against Ukraine. The Polish armed forces confirmed the deployment of fighter jets as a precautionary measure to ensure public safety and protect the nation’s airspace. This airspace closure impacted the cities of Lublin and Rzeszów and was planned to last until the early morning hours. Simultaneously, Ukraine’s air force reported nationwide air raid sirens, activated from 03:00 GMT on Sunday, in response to the ongoing Russian missile strikes. Earlier in the month, Polish and NATO forces successfully intercepted Russian drones that entered Polish airspace, marking the first direct military confrontation with Moscow since the 2022 invasion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned NATO and the European Union that any aggression towards Russia would be met with a decisive response. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Lavrov stated that Moscow had no intention of attacking the West but would react if provoked. Furthermore, NATO announced an enhancement of its mission in the Baltic Sea, deploying an air defense frigate and other assets, including “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms,” as a response to drone incursions near Denmark. Unidentified drones were observed near Danish military installations overnight on Saturday, leading to the classification of these incidents as hybrid attacks. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen characterized it as “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.” Copenhagen Airport, the busiest in the Nordic region, was temporarily closed, with five smaller Danish airports, both civilian and military, also undergoing brief closures in the following days. Police in neighboring Norway confirmed they were investigating possible drone sightings near Oerland air force base, which serves as the central hub for the country’s F-35 jets. In Germany, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt mentioned a drone “swarm” over Schleswig-Holstein, and expressed his intention to revise air safety laws, allowing the armed forces to shoot down drones. On Friday, defense ministers from roughly ten EU countries stated their commitment to prioritizing the construction of a “drone wall” to secure their borders. In response, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted that such measures would lead to “an increase in military and political tensions on our continent,” also claiming the plans reflected “personal ambitions and political games of the EU’s ruling elites.”