Poland has announced that it shot down "hostile objects" in its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine, the first time the NATO member country has done so since the start of the conflict . Following "repeated violations" of Polish airspace during a Russian attack on neighboring western Ukraine on Wednesday, the Polish military announced the deployment of Polish and allied aircraft.

Polish armed forces have opened fire, shooting down at least ten Russian drones that violated European and NATO airspace .

"An act of aggression," the Polish military called it. "Following today's Russian Federation attack on Ukrainian territory, an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects occurred. This is an act of aggression that has posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens," it said in a statement.

A drone struck a house in the town of Wyryki Wola in the Lublin Region, bordering Russia and Belarus. Polsat News reported that the building's roof and parking lot were damaged. No one was injured. Mayor Mariusz Zanko said that "people heard the explosion and also saw Polish fighter jets. The situation is quite difficult and worrying; there is truly great concern among residents."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denounced a "large-scale provocation." President Karol Nawrocki called it an "unprecedented moment in NATO history, but also in Poland's recent history."

And Warsaw will invoke NATO's Article 4 , requesting formal consultation within the alliance. The article establishes a mechanism for consultation between the parties to the treaty in the event of a threat to the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of one of the parties.

Moscow, for its part, rejects the accusations: "We believe the accusations are unfounded. No evidence has been presented that these drones are of Russian origin," said Andrei Ordash, Russia's chargé d'affaires in Poland, as quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Italian and Dutch jets were involved in last night's operation to protect Poland . Polish F-16 fighters were joined by Dutch F-35s and Italian AWACS surveillance aircraft. Reuters also reports that NATO's Patriot air defense systems detected the Russian drones via radar, but did not engage them.

"Putin continues to test the West," thundered Ukrainian President Zelensky , "and will continue to do so until he receives a strong response. He continues to escalate and expand his war. A weak response today will only further provoke Russia, and Russian missiles and drones will fly even further into Europe ."

Zelensky claims to have "increasing" evidence indicating that the attack on Poland "was not accidental."

"On behalf of the Italian Government, I express full solidarity with Poland for the serious and unacceptable violation by Russia of Polish airspace and the Atlantic Alliance," declared Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a statement.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also strongly condemned the attack: "This is an unacceptable and extremely serious violation of Polish territory, an offense to the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area. Italy expresses its full solidarity with Poland, a friend and ally, reaffirming its commitment to defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Every provocation must be firmly and unifiedly rejected by Europe."

(Unioneonline)

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