Poland vows to press ahead with ‘military modernisation’ after drone incursion

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged on Thursday (September 11, 2025) to push ahead with a “great modernisation program” for his country’s military, a day after Russian drones crossed into Poland and amplified international tensions around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including what the Kremlin’s future territorial ambitions might be.

European officials described Wednesday’s (September 10, 2025) incursion — which occurred during a wave of recent unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine — as a deliberate provocation, forcing the NATO alliance to confront a potential threat in its airspace for the first time.

It deepened long-standing fears that the three-year war between Poland’s neighbours could precipitate a wider conflict. U.S.-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.

The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced on Thursday (September 11, 2025) morning that Poland was introducing air traffic restrictions in the eastern part of the country. It said the step was taken at the request of the Polish army for national security reasons but did not elaborate.

Poland said some of the drones that entered its airspace came from Belarus, where Russian and local troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start on Friday (September 12, 2025). Poland is closing its border with Belarus at midnight Thursday (September 11, 2025), a planned move also associated with the military exercises.

Mr. Tusk addressed Polish troops at an air base in the central city of Lask, praising their quick action and that of NATO allied forces from the Netherlands that responded to the multiple Russian drone incursions.

Poland expects to receive its first F-35 fighter jets from the United States next year, he said. It will be the first delivery of some of the 32 aircraft expected by 2030 as part of a support package finalized five years ago, Mr. Tusk said.