By Al Jazeera,Apps Support

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Poland’s air force has reportedly shot down hostile aerial objects, described as drones, that entered Polish airspace during a Russian overnight attack on Ukraine.

Polish and allied NATO aircraft, ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems were in the “highest state of readiness” in the early hours of Wednesday after Ukraine’s air force warned that Russian drones had entered Polish airspace.

If the drones are confirmed to be from Russia, the incident would mark the first time that Poland, a NATO member, has directly engaged Russian assets in its airspace since the Ukraine war started in 2022.

Poland is closing its two remaining border crossings with Belarus at midnight on Thursday until there is “no more threat to Polish citizens”, as the Russia-led “Zapad” military exercises with Belarusian forces take place in Belarus.

Russia and Belarus’s large-scale military exercises start on Friday and have raised security concerns in Poland, as well as neighbouring NATO member states Lithuania and Latvia.

The Zapad-2025 exercises will include drills on the possible use of nuclear weapons and the deployment of the Russian-made, intermediate-range, hypersonic Oreshnik missile, according to the Belarusian defence minister.

Lithuania, which conducted military drills earlier this month with Poland and other allied troops, is set to reinforce its border with Belarus and Russia due to the military exercises.

Poland also arrested a suspected Belarusian spy and will expel a diplomat from the Belarus embassy who “supported the aggressive action of the Belarusian state against Poland”, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on the X platform.