The Polish military said combat aircraft and other air-defense assets were operating in the country’s airspace following Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory. The measures were described as preventive and aimed at protecting areas adjacent to regions potentially affected by the strikes.

The activation came as Russia carried out a large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukraine, including attacks on the capital, Kyiv, prompting heightened vigilance among neighboring NATO states. Polish authorities said the operation was intended to ensure the integrity of national airspace and maintain readiness in the event of any spillover from the conflict.

Later on Sunday, Poland’s armed forces reported that no violations of Polish airspace had been detected during the Russian strikes. Military officials said the aviation deployment remained a precautionary response to developments across the border rather than a reaction to any direct incursion.

The latest activation reflects a pattern of heightened military alertness in Poland since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw has repeatedly scrambled aircraft, activated air-defense systems and coordinated with NATO allies when major Russian missile and drone attacks have targeted western Ukraine near the Polish border.

Poland, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters within NATO, serves as a critical logistics corridor for Western military assistance flowing into Ukraine. The country has also expanded investments in air-defense infrastructure and surveillance capabilities amid growing regional security concerns.

Recent weeks have seen increased tensions across NATO’s eastern flank, including reports of drone-related incidents and military interceptions in the Baltic region. Earlier this month, Polish fighter aircraft intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over international waters in the Baltic Sea, which Warsaw characterized as a provocative action.

While Sunday’s operation concluded without any reported breach of Polish territory, the deployment underscored the continuing risk that Russia’s air campaign against Ukraine could affect neighboring alliance members and further elevate tensions .

Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark and Poland have all said Russian drones or fighter jets have violated their airspace in recent weeks, prompting the NATO alliance to beef up defence around Europe’s eastern flank.

“Within the scope of NATO Assurance Measures, our Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft is carrying out missions in Lithuanian airspace between September 22-25,” the ministry said in its weekly press statement.

AWACS are capable of detecting low-flying drones and other objects that ground radars miss.

The ministry provided no further information.

Poland has shot down some of the drones, and Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday granted the armed forces powers to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace.

Western officials say Russia is carrying out the airspace violations to test NATO’s readiness and resolve. Estonia and Poland have asked the alliance to open consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty.

Article 4 says members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.

Turkey, NATO’s second largest army, has strong ties with Russia in areas including energy and tourism. It has condemned Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provided Kyiv with military support, but refrained from joining Western sanctions against Russia as part of a balancing act that it says helps it talk to both sides.