Russian drones have entered several NATO countries’ airspace. Far more may be within their range
Police and army inspect the damage to a house destroyed by debris from a Russian drone shot down during a mass overnight attack in Wyryki-Wola, Poland, on Sept. 10, 2025. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images)
The latest massive aerial attack on Ukraine hit a new milestone in the continuing escalation of Russian bombardments, after Poland announced that it had closed airports and downed Russian drones in its airspace overnight on Sept. 10.
"Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X, adding that those "that posed a direct threat were shot down."
As Russia continues to improve its drones — which Ukrainian intelligence has said it can churn out to the tune of 2,700 units each month — their range and deadliness continue to grow.
While the exact range of the drones is not confirmed, various intelligence services and experts have tried to estimate their reach.
Originally manufactured by Iran and called Shahed-136, the drones had a claimed range of 2,500 kilometers and carried a 50-kilogram warhead.
Russia now builds its own analogue versions called Geran-2, and according to Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), it also has the same range.
But there are different variations of the Geran-2 — in February, HUR said an upgraded version carried a 90-kilogram warhead, making it far more deadly but reducing its range to about 650 kilometers (404 miles).
Russia has recently started using a rocket-powered version of the Geran-2 in mass attacks on Ukraine.
Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told the Kyiv Independent in July that these have the same 2,500 kilometer range of the regular version but can cover the distance in far less time and are far more difficult to intercept.
Among the locations from which Russia launches its drones, Russia’s far-west city of Byransk is nearest to Western Europe, lying just north of Ukraine and less than 600 kilometers from the Lithuania and Latvia borders.
Further South, Russia also launches drones from occupied Crimea.
The estimated distance they can cover would put nearly all of Europe’s NATO countries within range of Russian attack drones like the ones that entered Polish airspace on Sept 10.
While Russia’s drones or fragments of downed drones have previously entered the airspaces of Poland, Latvia, Moldova, and Romania in the course of past attacks on Ukraine, Tusk’s announcement marks the first confirmed instance where a NATO country has engaged with Russian military assets on its territory since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
In the past, Poland has scrambled its jets and readied its air defense systems but did not act to intercept the aerial drones.
Poland, Latvia, and Romania are all NATO countries, while Moldova has refrained from joining the security bloc because of a constitutional neutrality requirement.
Moldova nonetheless has friendly relations with NATO and cooperates with the bloc on military drills.
In response to the growing threat from Russian drones that stray into its territory, Romania has constructed air raid shelters and has announced plans to deploy drone defense systems near its border with Ukraine to protect its citizens.
"Putin just keeps escalating, expanding his war, and testing the West. The longer he faces no strength in response, the more aggressive he gets," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after the most recent overnight attack.
"A weak response now will provoke Russia even more — and then Russian missiles and drones will fly even further into Europe."
