Polish and allied aircraft were active in Polish airspace on the night of September 9-10, 2025, as Russia conducted massive strikes on Ukraine, according to the RSZ Operational Command. This activity occurred amid reports of Russian drones entering Polish airspace, with some originating from the Volyn region and heading towards Poland. Rzeszów Airport was closed due to "unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security," as per an official NOTAM transmitted around 10:45 PM UTC on September 9th. Multiple sources indicate that Russian drones have entered Polish airspace, with Ukrainian monitoring channels suggesting a significant number of Shahed drones operating in the airspace of Ukraine and Poland. Unconfirmed reports suggest Polish forces may have engaged multiple drones. An Italian Air Force airborne early warning aircraft was observed operating from Estonia and moving south as Russian drones reportedly crossed the Polish border. Major news outlets have been largely silent, citing a lack of verified information and cautioning that drone numbers may be exaggerated. On September 9th, Polish F-16 jets were scrambled to observe two Shahed drones entering Polish airspace around 9:30 PM UTC. Subsequently, an additional 11 Shahed drones originating from Volyn entered Polish airspace around 10:01 PM UTC, prompting the deployment of Dutch F-35 fighter jets. A SU-30 of the Air Force of Belarus was reported to have intercepted and destroyed one Shahed drone within Belarus that was heading towards Poland. In response to ongoing Russian-led military exercises, "Zapad-2025," Poland announced it would completely close its border with Belarus and all rail crossings starting Thursday at 12:00 AM. These exercises, set to take place in Belarus and Western Russia from September 12th to the 16th, may include drills on nuclear weapons and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, with NATO Forces in Poland and the Baltics expected to conduct their own exercises along the border. Separately, President Donald Trump's scheduled remarks from the Oval Office, expected earlier in the evening, had not yet occurred, and C-SPAN had removed the event from its schedule. A signing event with RFK Jr. concerning pharmaceutical ads was reportedly closed to the press, and the Presidential pool was being loaded into a motorcade for an unknown destination.
