Airports in the eastern Polish cities of Lublin and Rzeszów temporarily suspended operations on Thursday morning as Polish military aircraft responded to a large-scale Russian drone attack on western Ukraine.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency said the restrictions were introduced to ensure that military aviation could operate freely. Civilian flights resumed shortly after 8 a.m.
The temporary closures left the airspace around both airports almost empty, according to data published by online flight-tracking services.
Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command said military aircraft remained active because Russian unmanned aerial vehicles operating over western Ukraine could potentially threaten Polish airspace. Ground-based air defence systems and radar units were also placed at an appropriate level of readiness.
Residents of the Lublin and Podkarpackie regions received emergency alerts from Poland’s Government Security Centre. The messages warned of a Russian air attack in Ukraine, informed recipients that Polish military aircraft were operating in national airspace and advised them to follow official announcements. One alert was withdrawn before 7 a.m., but another was subsequently issued as the situation developed.
The measures were precautionary, and Polish authorities did not report any violation of the country’s airspace.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 149 attack drones against Ukraine during the night. Ukrainian forces said that 128 of them were intercepted.
The attacks began on Wednesday evening, with drones reported over the Zhytomyr and Rivne regions. Unmanned aircraft were later detected near Lutsk, relatively close to the Polish border.
Rzeszów Airport has played an especially important role since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It serves as a major logistics hub for international military and humanitarian assistance delivered to Kyiv. As a result, developments in western Ukraine frequently lead to heightened military readiness in southeastern Poland.
