Russia Had Been Preparing Drone Strikes on Poland Since July, Report Says

Russia’s overnight drone assault on Polish territory was not a sudden escalation but part of preparations dating back to July.

The Gaze reports this, referring to an analysis by Defense Express.

The September 10 attack, which Warsaw denounced as an “unprecedented violation of airspace” and a “large-scale provocation,” was preceded by earlier evidence suggesting that Moscow had been laying the groundwork for strikes on Poland and neighboring Lithuania.

In early July, Polish journalist Marek Budzisz cited a confidential report revealing that debris from Russian drones downed in Ukraine contained 4G modems with SIM cards from Polish mobile operators. One drone also carried a Lithuanian SIM card. 

The report concluded that Russia was testing connectivity to local mobile networks as part of preparations for flights over Polish and Lithuanian territory.

Mobile internet capability enables drones not only to relay flight data but also to transmit images and gather intelligence on air defense and electronic warfare systems. 

Defense Express noted that Russia has long relied on such technology against Ukraine, and it is plausible that the September 10 strike was intended in part to probe Poland’s defenses, especially with the joint Russian-Belarusian military exercise “Zapad-2025” set to begin in Belarus on September 12.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that “huge numbers” of Russian drones crossed into Poland’s airspace overnight. He said at least 19 violations were recorded, with Polish and allied fighter jets intercepting three UAVs deemed a direct threat. 

For the first time since the start of the war, a significant portion of these drones entered Poland directly from Belarus, though Ukrainian monitoring channels reported that many had first crossed into Belarus from Ukraine.

Officials announced that Poland would trigger Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which calls for consultations among member states when a nation’s territorial integrity or security is threatened.

As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is ready to share intelligence about the Russian strike and assist Poland in strengthening its warning and defense systems against future attacks.