Is Russia testing NATO with aerial incursions in Europe?

Denmark was forced to adjacent its bluish Aalborg airdrome connected Wednesday when unidentified drones were detected successful its airspace. This follows Monday’s sighting of drones adjacent to Copenhagen’s airport. Drones were aboriginal detected adjacent respective different airports connected Thursday arsenic well.

While the root of these drones has not been formally confirmed, the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which crossed into Polish and Romanian airspace earlier this period were identified arsenic Russian.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4NATO warns Russia of airspace violations, volition support self, deter threats
• list 2 of 4‘Ukraine is lone first’: Zelenskyy warns against Putin’s expansionist goals
• list 3 of 4Denmark reports ‘hybrid attack’ arsenic drones shutter large airport
• list 4 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of cardinal events, time 1,309

Meanwhile, Estonia besides claimed Russian craft entered its airspace.

Here is simply a person look astatine the sightings crossed Europe and whether Russia mightiness beryllium deliberately investigating NATO boundaries.

Which countries person reported airspace incursions?

Denmark

Early connected Thursday, Danish authorities reported that “more than one” drone had been spotted adjacent Aalborg airdrome successful the Jutland portion of bluish Denmark.

The airdrome is utilized for some commercialized and subject flights, and its closure disrupted subject operations, according to the police.

The Danish constabulary said the drone sightings successful Aalborg followed a akin signifier to those that halted flights astatine Copenhagen airport for 4 hours connected Monday, erstwhile respective large, unidentified drones were spotted adjacent the capital’s airport.

“It is excessively aboriginal to accidental what the extremity of the drones is and who is the histrion behind,” the Danish constabulary told the Reuters quality agency.

The Danish equipped forces said they were assisting section and nationalist constabulary with the investigation.

On Thursday, constabulary said the drones had near Aalborg airspace, but further drone sightings had been reported adjacent airports successful Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup successful occidental Denmark.

“It surely does not look similar a coincidence. It looks systematic. This is what I would specify arsenic a hybrid attack,” Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters.

Poulsen added that Denmark does not see itself to beryllium facing a nonstop subject threat. He did not straight sanction Russia arsenic liable for the drones.

Poland

On September 9 and aboriginal connected September 10, NATO and Polish forces scrambled to sprout down Russian drones which had entered the European nation’s airspace during a Russian aerial onslaught connected Ukraine, which shares its northwestern borderline with Poland.

Poland temporarily unopen down astatine slightest 3 of its airports, including Warsaw’s Chopin airport, the country’s largest, and advised radical to enactment astatine location portion the cognition continued.

“During today’s onslaught by the Russian Federation connected targets successful Ukraine, our airspace was repeatedly violated by drones,” the Polish military’s Operational Command said successful a statement.

An cognition was conducted to cod debris from the drones that had been changeable down.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the drones were from Russia, saying successful a televised statement: “We are dealing with a large-scale provocation … We are acceptable to repel specified provocations. The concern is serious, and nary 1 doubts that we indispensable hole for assorted scenarios.”

Romania

The Southeastern European state has reported debris from Russian drones falling into its territory since the warfare successful Ukraine began successful February 2022.

On September 13, it sent 2 F-16 jets and 2 Eurofighters to intercept a Russian drone which had breached its airspace during a Russian onslaught connected Ukraine, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence said. It advised citizens to instrumentality cover.

The Defence Ministry reported that the jets had chased the drone until “it disappeared from the radar” adjacent the Romanian colony of Chilia Veche, which is adjacent to the borderline with Ukraine.

Estonia

Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 3 Russian combatant craft entered its airspace connected September 19.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia had violated Estonian airspace 4 times successful 2025, but the incursion “involving 3 combatant craft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen”.

How has NATO responded?

On September 10, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said successful narration to the Polish airspace incursion: “Our aerial defences were activated and successfully ensured the defence of NATO territory, arsenic they are designed to do.”

Missile and defence systems from aggregate NATO allies, including Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS jets, NATO’s Multi Role Tanker Transport Capability craft and German Patriot defence systems, were progressive successful the effect to the drones, Rutte reported.

He said NATO had convened to sermon the concern pursuing Poland’s petition for consultations nether Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which spans 14 articles. Article 4 of the pact allows immoderate subordinate state to petition urgent consultations with the confederation if it feels its information oregon territorial integrity is threatened.

It besides serves arsenic the precursor to activating Article 5, which decrees that an equipped onslaught connected 1 NATO subordinate should beryllium considered an onslaught connected each members of the alliance.

“Allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behaviour,” Rutte said, adding that it is wide that the “violation” was “not an isolated incident”.

NATO again met connected September 23 astatine the petition of Estonia, according to a connection released by the alliance.

“Russia bears afloat work for these actions, which are escalatory, hazard miscalculation and endanger lives. They indispensable stop,” the NATO connection said.

Is Russia ‘testing’ the West?

Ukrainian officials assertion Russia’s incursions into different countries’ airspace are deliberate.

“Putin conscionable keeps escalating, expanding his war, and investigating the West,” Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s overseas minister, posted connected X connected September 10 aft the drones were spotted successful Poland.

Russian drones flying into Poland during the monolithic onslaught connected Ukraine amusement that Putin’s consciousness of impunity keeps increasing due to the fact that helium was not decently punished for his erstwhile crimes.

Putin conscionable keeps escalating, expanding his war, and investigating the West. The longer helium faces no…

— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) September 10, 2025

“The Russian subject knows precisely wherever their drones are headed and however agelong they tin run successful the air. Their routes are ever calculated,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote connected X connected September 13 aft the drones entered Romanian airspace.

“It is an evident enlargement of the warfare by Russia – and this is precisely however they act,” helium added.

Today, Romania scrambled combat craft due to the fact that of a Russian drone successful its airspace. According to existent data, the drone penetrated astir 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated successful NATO airspace for astir 50 minutes. Also today, Poland responded militarily to the…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 13, 2025

Other NATO allies person besides claimed the incursions were deliberate.

“There’s decidedly nary crushed to fishy that this was a people correction, a mistake, oregon thing similar that,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told lawmakers. “They wouldn’t person had to instrumentality this way to alert to Ukraine.”

However experts successful drone warfare accidental it is inactive imaginable that the incursions were not deliberate.

“Are these drone incursions deliberate? I don’t judge they needfully are,” Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher astatine King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

Drones connected autopilot are programmed with circumstantial people coordinates successful their strategy truthful if they suffer the GPS signal, they “do not cognize wherever to go”. “In galore cases, they virtually autumn from the sky. They alert determination until they tally retired of fuel.”

The jamming of force drone GPS signals is simply a communal maneuver utilized by some Russia and Ukraine, Miron explained.

Russia besides uses inexpensive “decoy” drones called Gerbera drones, which tin beryllium easy jammed, to overwhelm Ukraine’s aerial defence system, she added. These were the drones that were recovered to person been utilized successful the Polish incursion.

How has Russia responded to the charges?

Moscow has denied deliberately attacking immoderate of the European countries, alternatively accusing them of making mendacious allegations to origin tensions.

After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, the Russian Ministry of Defence said its drones had targeted subject facilities successful occidental Ukraine and that determination were nary plans to onslaught locations successful Poland.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov besides claimed that NATO and Ukraine “accuse Russia of provocations connected a regular basis, astir of the clip without adjacent trying to contiguous astatine slightest immoderate benignant of argument”.

“The broadside that takes a serious, liable presumption should not travel up with specified unfounded accusations,” helium told the Russian quality bureau Tass connected Tuesday.

The adjacent day, Peskov again said the allegations that Russian drones had violated NATO airspace were “unfounded” and “we perceive specified exaggerated hysteria astir our subject pilots allegedly violating immoderate rules and invading someone’s airspace”.

How has Trump responded to these reports?

United States President Donald Trump has been trying to clasp negotiations to bring an extremity to the warfare successful Ukraine since helium assumed bureau successful January this year. A summit helium held with Russian President Vladimir Putin successful Alaska successful August failed to nutrient a bid agreement, however.

Earlier this month, Trump told reporters that the drones entering Polish airspace “could person been a mistake”. This earned him rebuke, and Tusk responded, saying Poland knew it was not a mistake.

He appeared to person changed his stance erstwhile asked aft a gathering with Zelenskyy connected the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week whether helium believed NATO countries should sprout down Russian craft that participate their airspace. Trump told reporters: “Yes, I do.”

What happens next?

On Friday, defence ministers from respective European countries volition conscionable to sermon establishing a “drone wall” to support against further incursions. Denmark volition articulation this discussion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen besides called for a drone partition earlier this month.