Ukraine war latest: NATO engages Russia for first time ever as Poland downs drones amid attack on Ukraine
Key developments on Sept. 10:
- NATO engages Russia for first time ever as Poland downs drones amid mass attack on Ukraine
- Belarus expands military infrastructure near Ukraine, may host Russian Oreshnik ballistic missiles
- Trump sees no reason to economically isolate Russia outside war in Ukraine, Vance says
- Russian military losses near 300,000 in 2025, Syrskyi says
Poland confirmed downing Russian drones in its airspace during a mass aerial attack on Ukraine overnight on Sept. 10 in what is the first case of a NATO member engaging Moscow's military assets over its territory during the war.
In the wake of the incident, Warsaw requested consultations with NATO allies under Article 4, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"The situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II," he told the Polish parliament.
The incident occurred as Russia launched waves of drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight, primarily targeting central and western regions and inflicting civilian casualties.
"Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones," Tusk said on X, adding that those "that posed a direct threat were shot down."
Polish authorities temporarily closed Warsaw’s main Chopin Airport and placed the country’s air defenses on high alert overnight after what they described as "an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects."
The Polish Armed Forces’ Operational Command said it had activated all necessary procedures to protect national airspace and scrambled both Polish and NATO aircraft in response to the threat.
Earlier, Tusk confirmed that a military operation related to multiple violations of Polish airspace was underway without initially naming the drones' origin. The prime minister added that he has informed the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the situation.
Russian drones and missiles have repeatedly violated the airspace of Poland and other NATO members during strikes on Ukraine, but until Sept. 10, there had never been a confirmed case of local defenses shooting one down.
Polish fighter jets have been scrambled before in response to the war, but previous deployments primarily involved monitoring or escorting Russian drones that briefly entered Polish airspace en route to targets in Ukraine — not engaging or shooting them down.
The Polish military later said the Polish and allied aircraft, including Dutch F-35 fighters, concluded their operation by 7:42 a.m. local time, and air defenses and radar systems resumed normal activity. The search for impact sites and wreckage is ongoing.
Italian AWACS (Airborne early warning and control) surveillance planes and a refueling aircraft jointly operated by NATO were also involved in the operation, according to Reuters.
Addressing the Polish parliament, Tusk said that 19 airspace violations were recorded, while three or four drones were shot down by Polish and allied planes — the last one at 6:45 a.m. local time.
However, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported that up to 23 Russian drones were detected and were fired upon primarily by the Dutch F-35s.
Belarus expands military infrastructure near Ukraine, may host Russian missiles
Belarus has significantly expanded military infrastructure near the Ukrainian border since 2022, raising concerns about Russian missile deployment and growing regional militarization, an investigation by Schemes (RFE/RL) has found.
An analysis of dozens of Planet Labs satellite images reveals accelerated construction across Belarus and the rebuilding of several military sites, one of which may be intended to host the Russian Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM).
The timeline of developments begins shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Belarus rapidly deepened its military cooperation with Moscow and allowed its territory to be used by Russia's invading forces.
Satellite photos from 2023 and 2024 revealed extensive construction efforts across Belarus, including the two new southern complexes.
One site south of Minsk is being rebuilt on the grounds of a former Soviet missile base, and analysts believe it could house Oreshnik.
The second is located near Homel, just 30 kilometers from Ukraine. Images show land clearance, new roads, and foundations for military infrastructure alongside a planned training ground.
These developments could increase the risk of Belarus becoming a staging ground for Russian forces, shrinking the buffer zone between Ukraine and potential missile launch sites to only a few dozen kilometers.
The new facilities are expected to play a role in Zapad-2025, large-scale joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises scheduled for September 12–16, which observers see as both a training event and a show of force.
Trump sees no reason to economically isolate Russia outside war in Ukraine, Vance says
U.S. President Donald Trump does not believe Russia should be cut off from the global economy beyond the context of its war against Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with One America News Network published on Sept. 10.
The statement comes as, despite Trump's repeated threats, his administration has imposed only limited penalties on Russia and, in some cases, has rolled back restrictions.
"The president's been very open with the Europeans and the Russians that he doesn't see any reason why we should economically isolate Russia except for the continuation of the conflict," Vance said.
The vice president added that Russia remains a resource powerhouse.
"Let's be honest, whether you like or dislike Russia, whether you agree or disagree with their underlying arguments for the conflict, the simple fact is they've got a lot of oil," Vance said.
"They've got a lot of gas. They've got a lot of mineral wealth."
According to the vice president, once a settlement is reached, Washington could have "a very productive economic relationship" with both Kyiv and Moscow.
His remarks come as Trump's peace proposals allegedly include lifting sanctions on Moscow, sparking concerns in Kyiv and Brussels that the West might lose leverage over the Kremlin.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sept. 8 that Europe must cut purchases of Russian oil and gas if it wants Washington to step up sanctions to push Moscow toward meaningful negotiations.
In August, Washington imposed tariffs on India, one of Russia's biggest oil buyers, but stopped short of broader action. Indian officials said the tariffs would not halt their imports of Russian crude.
European Council President Antonio Costa announced on Sept. 5 that a delegation would travel to Washington to coordinate a new package of joint sanctions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the following day that Washington is ready to expand secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, though no further measures have been announced.
Russian military losses near 300,000 in 2025, Syrskyi says
Russia has lost nearly 300,000 troops in 2025, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported Sept. 9.
"The Russian army's losses since the beginning of the year have already reached almost 300 thousand (299,210) people," Syrskyi wrote on social media.
Although Moscow does not publicly disclose casualty figures, Ukrainian officials say Russian losses are roughly three times higher than Ukraine's.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost more than one million troops, with about 30% of those casualties occurring in the past nine months, according to Ukrainian military estimates.
Western intelligence has largely supported Kyiv's estimates, with British intelligence reporting in August that Russia's troop losses surpassed one million.
Despite experiencing heavy losses with only incremental gains, Russia remains committed to its maximalist demands in Ukraine, which include full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told the White House that he intends to occupy Ukraine's eastern Donbas region by the end of 2025, even though Russia has occupied less than 1% of Ukraine's territory since November 2022.
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