Poland issues air attack alert as Russian jet drone nears border
Poland’s Government Center for Security (RCB) warned residents of Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships of a threat of air attack on September 17, 2026, as a Russian jet-powered drone approached the Polish border. The drone came down 3 to 4 kilometers (about 2 to 2.5 miles) inside Ukraine, according to Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command (DORSZ), and the alert was lifted at 12:48 local time.
The initial message, set out in an RCB communiqué published at 11:54 local time, went to all 24 counties and cities with county status in Lublin Voivodeship and all 25 in Subcarpathian Voivodeship and told recipients to find a safe place. The follow-up alert said the threat had been revoked and that there was no threat on Polish territory.
Polish fighters scrambled as drone approaches border
DORSZ said on X at 11:40 local time that military aircraft had begun operating in Polish airspace in response to Russian strikes on western Ukraine using jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles, with ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems brought to readiness.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) said that Lublin Airport (LUZ) and Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport (RZE) had temporarily suspended flight operations to give military aviation freedom of action.
Alarm w Lublinie. 4 drony lecą w stronę woj. lubelskiego. https://t.co/M3RViXBtUe pic.twitter.com/CE00ujlNTO— Klaudia Kowalczyk (@kl_kowalczyk) September 17, 2026
DORSZ spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski told Interia that Ukraine had warned Poland of an object approaching the border at high speed, which Polish radar also tracked, prompting the decision to launch fighters. In comments to Interia and the Polish Press Agency (PAP), he said the drone most likely hit a target or was neutralized 3 to 4 kilometers inside Ukraine, while the command was still checking its system records.
Alarm w Lublinie. 4 drony lecą w stronę woj. lubelskiego. https://t.co/M3RViXBtUe pic.twitter.com/CE00ujlNTO— Klaudia Kowalczyk (@kl_kowalczyk) September 17, 2026
Speaking at a press conference after meeting Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a target near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing, probably a gas station, had been struck and said there had been a very large explosion.
DORSZ later announced the end of military air operations and said no violation of Polish airspace had been recorded. It separately attributed a loud boom heard in central Poland before noon to combat aircraft breaking the sound barrier. Neither DORSZ nor the government identified the aircraft involved or the drone type.
Russian drone strikes near Poland’s border raise security concerns
The alert follows Russian strikes near the same crossing on September 13, 2026, when a drone hit a passenger-train locomotive at Yahodyn station.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on X that day that one jet-powered Geran-5 drone struck 1 kilometer (about 0.6 miles) from the Polish border and another 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) away, without violating Poland’s border.
PANSA introduced low-altitude flight restrictions along the eastern border after up to 21 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on the night of September 9 to 10, 2025.The post Poland issues air attack alert as Russian jet drone nears border appeared first on AeroTime.
Poland’s Government Center for Security (RCB) warned residents of Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships of a threat of air…
The post Poland issues air attack alert as Russian jet drone nears border appeared first on AeroTime.
