Dutch fighter jets were involved in Tuesday evening’s Nato effort to shoot down a number of Russian drones which had invaded Polish airspace, the Polish army has confirmed.

The army thanked the Dutch air force, “whose F-35 fighters helped ensure safety in Polish skies tonight,” in a social media message. Dutch F-35 fighter jets have been monitoring Nato airspace over eastern Europe since September 1.

Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk confirmed that Polish airspace was breached by “a large number of Russian drones” on Tuesday evening. Drones that posed an immediate threat were brought down and no one on the ground was injured, he said.

According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia’s attack involved 415 drones, one ballistic missile and 42 cruise missiles, and “eight enemy UAVs crossed the Ukrainian state border flying in Poland’s direction.”

Dutch foreign minister David van Weel said on Wednesday morning that the Russian drone violations of Nato airspace are unacceptable and a threat to Europe’s security.

“The Netherlands stands firmly with Poland,” he said. “Nato must remain ready, and tougher sanctions must put greater pressure on Russia’s war economy.”

The EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said that Russia was escalating the war in Ukraine and that the drone attack was “the most serious breach of European air space by Russia.”

She said there are indications it was deliberate rather than an accident, and again called for more investment in European defence.