Czech Gripen fighter jets scrambled over Poland amid Russian drone attacks

Czech JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets took to the skies to monitor NATO airspace along Poland's eastern border amid Russian drone strikes on western Ukraine. The Czech Army announced this on Friday.

The armed fighters took off from the Pardubice air base on Thursday evening under orders from NATO's joint command as part of the alliance's integrated air and missile defence system. The aircraft monitored the area, though intervention ultimately proved unnecessary — after being relieved by Polish fighters, the Czech jets safely returned to their base in Pardubice.

"When necessary, we are ready to defend the airspace of our allies," the Czech Army stated.

Russian strikes near the Polish border

The Czech fighters were scrambled after Russia carried out yet another drone strike on targets in western Ukraine close to Polish territory. On Thursday, a jet-powered drone crashed or was shot down near the village of Yahodyn on the Ukrainian side of the border — roughly four kilometres from Poland. Polish authorities issued emergency alerts to residents in two regions, sirens sounded in several towns, and Polish aircraft were also scrambled.

Air traffic at the airports in Lublin and Rzeszów was temporarily suspended during the alert. Rzeszów is one of the key logistics hubs for Western aid to Ukraine.

This is not the first such incident near the Polish border. According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian drone struck the locomotive of a passenger train heading toward Warsaw at Yahodyn station on Sunday. Another drone hit a petrol station less than a kilometre from the Yahodyn–Dorohusk border crossing.

Fears of hybrid warfare

Poland's Chief of the General Staff, Wiesław Kukuła, thanked the Czech military on Friday, noting that NATO had deployed the Czech Air Force to support Poland's defence. "The Czechs, as always, right on time and, as always, professional," Kukuła wrote on X.

The scramble came amid growing security concerns in the region. On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that, according to intelligence reports, Russia may be preparing hybrid attacks against countries supporting Ukraine. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš later stated that Czechia is already facing Russian "hybrid warfare" and that Czech intelligence services are closely monitoring potential threats.

Around Prague, based on reporting by expats.cz