Poland and several allies activate fighter jets in response to a Russian drone offensive in Ukraine.

The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command announced early Wednesday that Russia was carrying out "new massive attacks" on Ukrainian territory, and was therefore activating all "necessary procedures" to protect its airspace and the citizens of the border regions. "Polish and allied [NATO partner] aircraft are operating in our airspace, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the maximum level of readiness," the military command reported in a statement on its social media .

The command stated that the maneuvers were of a "preventive nature." Just minutes earlier, Ukrainian monitoring channels had reported that several Russian attack drones had crossed the country's border and had been shot down by Polish fighter jets. This information has not been confirmed by either the government in Warsaw or the Polish military.

According to Ukrainian air tracking websites, unmanned aircraft of the Geran type, a modification of the Iranian Shahed used by Moscow in its offensive against Kiev , first flew over northern and western Ukraine before crossing the border into European Union and NATO territory. Their first destination, according to these channels, was the Polish city of Zamosc, about 70 kilometers from the border. If confirmed, it would be the first time that several of these aircraft have entered Polish skies simultaneously and continued their trajectory beyond the Ukrainian border.

Rzeszów Airport, in eastern Poland, about 60 kilometers from the border crossing into Ukraine, announced its temporary closure due to air activity. Later, according to a statement from the US Federal Aviation Administration, Warsaw International Airport, the Polish capital, also temporarily shut down due to "unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security."

Dozens of drones took off late Tuesday from southern Belarus and the western Russian border toward central and western Ukraine. Some Ukrainian monitoring channels have counted more than 100 of these vehicles launched as projectiles. Russia broke all records early Sunday morning by sending 810 drones against virtually every region of Ukraine . One of them crashed into a building in Kyiv, killing three people, including a baby.

At around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, some of these drones were shot down while flying over the Ukrainian capital. Tonight's Russian offensive, carried out in groups or swarms, has launched a larger than usual number of these vehicle bombs toward cities such as Lviv and Lutsk, in the western part of Ukraine, which borders Poland.

Since February 2022, Poland has kept its fighter jets on alert to prevent the war from crossing the border. However, on several occasions, a Russian drone or fragments of one of these vehicle bombs have reached Polish soil after a major nighttime offensive.

On Tuesday, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that any drones entering the eastern border must be shot down, although he left the final decision to the Operational Command. A day earlier, Polish authorities found the wreckage of one of these aircraft in the town of Polatycze, near the border with Belarus.