Germany to defend Polish airspace against Russian attacks

Germany has followed Britain’s pledge to provide Poland with stronger air defences after Russia launched a series of drones into its airspace.

Nato allies also vowed to send more troops and aircraft to deter Russia and bolster their eastern flank.

The German defence ministry said on Thursday it was doubling the number of Eurofighter jets it currently deploys to defend Polish airspace from two to four, following a similar pledge from Britain to provide jets and air defence systems.

Germany has also extended its deployment of a rapid response air squadron at Laage air base, which handles Polish air defence missions, until Dec 31.

“Following repeated violations of [Nato] alliance airspace, the German government has decided to extend and expand Germany’s contribution to the defence of Polish airspace (Air Policing Poland),” the German defence ministry said.

The Netherlands will send air defence systems, artillery and 300 troops, while the Czech Republic is sending three Mi-171Sh helicopters and 100 soldiers, Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Thursday.

Sweden was also sending an “urgent dispatch of further aid to Poland, including air defence systems and aircraft”, he added.

Meanwhile, France will deploy three fighter jets to “help protect Polish airspace”.

As tensions heighten, Russia urged Poland to reopen its border with Belarus, Moscow’s close ally, calling the closure “destructive” and warning of consequences.

The border was closed ahead of joint Russian-Belarusian war games.

Polish and Dutch fighter jets were scrambled into the skies over allied territory late on Tuesday after Moscow launched a long-range missile and drone bombardment at neighbouring Ukraine.

No one was killed or injured during the incident, in which about 19 drones, including Gerbera decoy UAVs, crossed into Polish airspace.

Two of them were shot down by Dutch F-35s involved in the operation to counter the Russian incursion, while the three others crashed in more mysterious circumstances.

But the incursion appeared to be an attempt by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to test Nato’s air defences and its willingness to respond to provocation, such as triggering the Article 5 mutual defence pact.

Meanwhile, a Telegraph analysis of an image circulating widely on social media found that Nato fighter jets could have used missiles costing around $2m (£1.5m) to shoot down Russian drones.

The photograph appeared to show the remains of a AIM 120C-7, also known as an AMRAAM missile, which is in the arsenal of many Nato allies – including the Netherlands, Poland and Italy – that took part in Wednesday’s air defence mission.

The Russian drones flown into Polish airspace, based on the designs of Iranian Shahed UAVs, are believed to cost around $10,000 (£7,400) to manufacture.

Sir Keir Starmer held further talks with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron on strengthening both Polish and Ukrainian air defence on Thursday.

“Discussing how the UK and France could bolster Poland’s defences, the Prime Minister said the UK stood ready to support any further Nato deployments to the region,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

The Telegraph on Wednesday reported that Britain was considering dispatching RAF Typhoons or a Sky Sabre ground-based air defence system to the region.

The day after Russia’s attack, The Telegraph saw Polish soldiers helping to clear up the house which was most severely damaged by Moscow’s drones, in the eastern village of Wyryki-Wola.

The older couple who were living in the house, which had its roof caved in by a Russian drone shot down by Nato fighter jets, have been named as Ala and Tomasz Wesołowski.

A car was seen parked outside the house on Thursday which had a large dent in the rear boot door and a smashed rear windscreen, presumably from being struck by falling debris when the drone crash-landed.

Residents told The Telegraph that when they were first awoken by the sound of jets flying overhead in the middle of the night, they feared that a full-scale war had broken out, one that may have evoked traumatic memories for some of Hitler’s Sept 1 1939 invasion.

Wioletta, a 43-year-old shop worker, said: “I woke up at two in the morning because I heard noises in the sky. They were planes flying over our area, military planes. Later, my daughter woke me up [again] sometime after 6am, because there were sounds of planes shooting over our house, over our village.

“My daughter also heard an explosion. First, she heard a plane flying by, and then she heard the explosion. At first, I thought maybe it was a gas explosion, because in this area military exercises often take place, and you can also frequently hear planes.

“That’s why I thought it might be some kind of accident. But 15 minutes later, my sister called me and said, ‘Listen, I think we’ve been attacked by the Russians.’

“My sister was scared, and her daughter panicked. She was crying and kept saying that this is the start of a war. At first, I myself didn’t know what to think and was afraid, but later I got a message from my husband that something hit one one of the houses in the village.”

Miroslav, who lives four houses down from the crash site, said: “I woke up to smoke a cigarette as usual, and I heard the sound of an aeroplane over my head and then the huge noise of a drone hitting the house.”