Drone neutralised over Poland's presidential palace; two detained

Poland's State Protection Service (SOP) neutralised a commercial drone flying over government buildings near Parkowa Street and the Belweder Palace in Warsaw on Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, and two Belarusian citizens were detained in connection with the incident.

"Just now, the State Protection Service neutralized a drone operating over government buildings (Parkowa Street) and the Belweder Palace," Tusk wrote on X. He said police have launched an investigation into the event.

A SOP spokesman told broadcaster TVN24 that officers on duty at Belweder Palace spotted the drone and alerted their superiors. A patrol was dispatched "to neutralise, or detain, the drone operators," the spokesman said, and the two individuals were handed over to police. A separate SOP source quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP) said no shots were fired and that the drone returned to its operators in an emergency mode.

Colonel Piotr Napiórkowski, speaking for the protection service, said SOP teams are "constantly vigilant" around government buildings and are prepared to respond to such situations. Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Poland's minister of funds and regional policy, told local media she expected such provocations could be repeated.

The incident comes days after a large-scale breach of Polish airspace on Sept. 9, when Polish authorities said 19 drones entered from the east, temporarily forcing closures at least four airports including Rzeszów, Lublin, Warsaw and Modlin. Polish military jets, backed by NATO aircraft, engaged and shot down several of the drones, marking the first known incident of Kremlin-linked drones being downed over NATO territory since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Some of the drones crashed into civilian homes and a base used by Poland's Territorial Defence Forces.

German newspaper Die Welt reported that five of the drones were on a direct path to a NATO base used to deliver supplies to Ukraine; an unnamed senior NATO officer quoted by the paper said available information suggested the incursions were most likely intentional. NATO reconnaissance and fighter aircraft — including Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s and Italian AWACS — were scrambled to intercept the drones, according to Polish officials.

In the wake of last week's flights, Prime Minister Tusk warned that the prospect of military conflict in Europe was "closer than at any time since the Second World War." Tusk said he appreciated expressions of European solidarity but that "words are not enough," announcing that Poland would request significantly greater support from NATO allies.

Allies have moved additional forces east as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry mission. Denmark has pledged two F-16 fighter jets and a warship to boost Poland's air defence, France committed three Rafale fighters, Germany offered four Eurofighters, and the United Kingdom said it would deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon jets supported by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft. British leaders said the deployment was intended to deter aggression, secure NATO airspace and protect allied security.

Poland's deputy prime minister has urged NATO to build what he described as an "anti-drone wall" along the alliance's border with Russia. Incursions have been reported elsewhere along NATO's eastern flank in recent weeks, with Lithuania, Latvia and Romania also reporting drone activity.

Polish authorities said the two people detained after Monday's incident are Belarusian citizens; prosecutors and police have opened inquiries but gave no immediate details on potential charges. The SOP said it will continue heightened monitoring of government sites as investigations proceed.