Nato jets are scrambled as Russian military helicopter flies 1,000ft into Polish airspace 'to test alliance defences'

Nato jets have been scrambled after a Russian military helicopter flew 1,000ft into Poland's airspace. The Russian military Mi-8 helicopter made a brief incursion into Nato member Poland's airspace from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the Polish Army Operational Command said today.The helicopter spent 42 seconds in Polish airspace and entered to a maximum depth of about 328 yards, it said on X.'Fighter aircraft were scrambled, and ground-based forces and assets remained on standby. The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defence,' it said.Poland is on heightened alert for any incursion into its airspace connected with Russia's war in Ukraine.The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.The incident comes on the back of alleged Russian activity near Romanian airspace last night. Bucharest said that two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled 'to respond to an aerial target manoeuvring in the northeast of the locality of Valkove, on Ukrainian territory, near the border with Romania'. The Russian military Mi-8 helicopter made a brief incursion into Nato member Poland's airspace from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad (File image) An hour later, the country's defence ministry said the alert had concluded and that 'no incursions into national airspace have been reported'.Nato has been on high alert for years due to Russian activity in and near its members' airspace. On several occasions, Russian drones have entered Nato airspace and have even crashed on its members' soil. Nato planes have also shot down Russian drones that have crossed borders. Russian forces hammered Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with drones in daylight attacks on Wednesday, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to address world leaders at the US General Assembly.Two people were killed and 23 were wounded in Kyiv, and palls of black smoke floated above the city following the latest in what have been daily Russian attacks that torment Ukrainian civilians.The drones set off fires and damaged buildings in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine overnight, authorities said.Mr Zelensky was in New York for the annual gathering as part of his diplomatic effort to shore up and recruit further international support for his country's gruelling 4-year fight against Russia's invasion.Mr Zelensky met on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump, who has shown impatience with the lack of progress in talks aimed at ending the war and the escalating aerial attacks by both sides this year.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused by Nato officials and European governments of sabotage, espionage and other threats, is not scheduled to attend the UN gathering this year.Ukraine has hit back at Russia by damaging oil refineries that are a vital pillar of the country's economy.Mr Zelensky said at the start of his US visit that he had proposals to make about possible de-escalation in the war. Urgent issues for Kyiv are halting devastating Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid and ensuring Ukrainian grain can be shipped to world markets through the Black Sea despite the war. Smoke rises above the city following a Russian missile and drone attack on September 23, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine A man watches an emergency worker extinguish a fire in a business center that was struck by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine September 23, 2026Ukraine also needs more US-made Patriot air defence systems as a shield against Russian ballistic missiles, but Patriots are in short supply after the war in Iran began.In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, two men aged 37 and 39 were wounded by a strike that started a large fire at a shopping mall. Emergency services said the fire spread across about 1.5 acres before coming under control.The Russian Defence Ministry said that its forces overnight struck Ukraine's military-industrial and energy sector facilities, logistics centres, and sea vessels.The ministry said its air defences intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.