Poland, Romania Raise Alert Over Russian Drone Threats Near Ukraine

Poland and Romania have heightened their military readiness in response to incursions of Russian drones into their airspace, with Poland conducting preventive air operations and Romania scrambling fighter jets to intercept drones near their shared border with Ukraine. The Polish government temporarily closed Lublin airport and deployed allied aircraft to secure its airspace, while Romania shot down two Russian drones and issued safety warnings to residents near the border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the drone incursions as an expansion of the war by Russia, while Russia denied targeting Poland, attributing the drone breaches to jamming errors. NATO allies, including Bulgaria, strongly condemned the violations of Polish airspace, describing them as provocations that escalate regional tensions; Bulgaria activated NATO's Article 4 for consultations but sees no basis yet for invoking Article 5. Bulgarian political figures warned that the risk of Russian drone attacks is even higher for Bulgaria than Poland, urging stronger support for Ukraine and criticizing domestic governance issues that undermine public trust in security institutions. Overall, the incidents underscore growing security concerns in Eastern Europe amid ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and highlight NATO's coordinated response to deter further aggression.