Poland Shoots Down Drone Over Government District, Detains Two Belarusians

Polish security services shot down a drone flying over government buildings in Warsaw on Monday evening.

The Gaze reports this, referring to a post by Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The aircraft was intercepted above Parkowa Street and the Belweder Palace, the official presidential residence. 

Tusk said the State Protection Service quickly neutralized the drone, while police detained two Belarusian citizens in connection with the incident. An investigation is under way.

Later, officials clarified that the drone flying over government buildings and the Belweder Palace, the presidential residence in Warsaw, posed no threat. 

Colonel Bogusław Piurkowski of the State Protection Service told Polsat News, that patrol officers spotted the drone on Monday evening and detained the individuals operating it. They were handed over to police, and Piurkowski stressed that “there was no danger to the facility.”

The episode comes days after a major drone incursion on September 10, when around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, most from Belarus. 

In response, NATO invoked Article 4 of its founding treaty, allowing member states to consult on threats to security. Western officials suggested some of the Russian drones may have been targeting a NATO installation in Poland.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte described the alliance’s reaction as “very successful,” saying the incident underscored NATO’s readiness to defend “every inch” of its territory, including its skies.

On September 13, the alliance launched Operation “Eastern Sentry” in Poland to reinforce defenses along NATO’s eastern flank following the cross-border drone strikes.

As The Gaze reported earlier, Polish leaders pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Russia’s recent drone incursion into Polish territory could have been accidental, insisting the attack was deliberate.