Poland said it scrambled fighter jets on Thursday to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near its airspace over the Baltic Sea, and reported that dozens of objects crossed into the country from Belarus overnight, with some officials saying these are intentional provocations timed during a holiday period.
The Polish military said that jets intercepted, visually identified and escorted the Russian surveillance plane away from their area of responsibility while it was flying over international waters close to Poland’s airspace.
It said in reference to both the aircraft activity and large balloon incursions from Belarus, “the mass nature of the violation of Polish airspace, its occurrence during the special holiday season, the assessment of the Russian aircraft’s activity in the Baltic Sea, and the fact that similar incidents have recently occurred in Lithuania, may indicate that this was a provocation disguised as a smuggling operation.”
NATO countries along the alliance’s eastern flank remain on heightened alert after a series of provocative airspace incidents, including an episode in September when three Russian military aircraft entered Estonian airspace for over ten, shortly after more than 20 Russian drones crossed into Poland.
For another example, Lithuania has previously alleged that smuggler balloons originating from Belarus have repeatedly disrupted air traffic, at times forcing the closure of Vilnius airport.
Lithuanian officials claim that the balloons, which are used to transport cigarettes or other non-taxed contraband, amount to a form of “hybrid attack” by Belarus, a close ally and ‘Union State’ with Russia. However, the Lukashenko government has firmly denied any involvement.
The Polish military has said that as a result of the latest incidents, airspace over parts of the Podlaskie region in northeastern Poland, which borders Belarus, was temporarily closed to civilian flights as a security precaution.
These Eastern European and Baltic countries are trying to coordinate their responses and present a united NATO front. According to Fox, “Polish authorities said the response included support from NATO allies, with Spanish aircraft assisting in air policing and Dutch forces providing air defense systems support.”
Some reports have tallied that Russian aircraft or drones have breached eastern European airspace well over a dozen times at this point, since the Ukraine war began.
According to Business Insider, the company Atreyd has sent a “drone wall” to Ukraine for testing, designed to intercept Shaheds and KABs. Thanks to AI, a single operator can control a hundred drones simultaneously. Production is already established in France and Ukraine, and the… pic.twitter.com/jyo9PXQpXT
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) November 12, 2025
NATO and the European Union have lately said they are working on plans for a ‘drone wall’ for collective defense along the eastern flank, with an eye on the ‘Russian threat’ facing European skies.
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