On 19 September, the Polish Border Guard reported that two Russian fighter jets conducted a low flyover above Petrobaltic, Poland’s only offshore oil and gas platform in the Baltic Sea, TVP World writes. 

Unlike Turkiye, which shot down a Russian Su-24 in 2015 for violating its airspace, European NATO members respond to such actions only by strengthening patrols and deploying additional forces under Operation Eastern Sentry.

Poland also did not down the jets over its oil platform. 

NATO on alert

Polish Armed Forces and other services were immediately informed of the violation. On 10 September, Poland shot down 4 out of 19 Russian drones in its airspace with support from NATO aircraft. On the same night, Ukrainian air defenses destroyed more than 380 drones by mobile fire groups across the country. 

Moscow denied targeting Poland after drones. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that no targets on Polish territory were intended. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the EU and NATO “accuse Russia of provocations daily,” and that Western institutions “lack evidence to support their accusations.”

A week later, Warsaw recorded another night of drone provocations from Russia and Belarus. The country’s Border Guard Service reported heightened activity of the enemy targets attempting to violate its airspace. 

Escalation in the Baltic Region

On the same day, three Russian MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace without authorization. They remained for about 12 minutes before being intercepted by Italian F-35 jets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called these actions part of a systematic Russian campaign against Europe and NATO: “Small steps at first, and eventually major losses.”