Moscow claims that it had no plans to attack ‘targets in Polish territory’ with its drones

Dozens of Russian drones violated Poland's airspace early Wednesday morning and forced the closure of several airports in the country, including Warsaw, in an "unprecedented act of aggression that has posed a real threat to the security of citizens," the Polish government has claimed, which will invoke NATO Article 4.

Atlantic Alliance F-35 fighters assisted the country's air force in ensuring the safety of Polish skies and allied anti-aircraft defenses intervened to shoot down the Russian drones.

In its first statement on the events after the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry has ruled out that there were plans to hit targets in Poland during the attack and said it was ready to hold "consultations" with its Polish counterpart.

This came after the NATO member said it had shot down at least three Russian drones that violated its airspace, out of some 19 counted in the overnight attack. The incident left no loss of life according to official data.

"There was no intention to attack any targets on the territory of Poland," Russia's Defense Ministry said in an English-language statement, neither confirming nor denying that its drones had entered Polish airspace.

"We are ready to hold consultations on this issue with the Polish Defense Ministry," it added.

Germany says attack was deliberate

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday that Russian drones deliberately violated Polish airspace early last night.

"There is absolutely no reason to assume that this was a change of course, a mistake or something similar, and it is clear that these drones were deliberately launched on this course. To fly to Ukraine, they would not have had to take this course," he said during a round of questions to the government in the German parliament.

The European Union, NATO and the U.S., along with dozens of other countries, criticized the violation of Polish airspace and called for vigilance against Moscow's moves.