In brief
Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that an unmanned missile that fell into a Polish field near Tarnawa Kolonia in Lublin province was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. Polish forces intercepted a similar object earlier and sent an F‑16 fighter to intercept it. The crash produced a 10‑metre crater but left no human casualties and was considered a serious threat. NATO officials stressed continued defence measures, while Ukraine’s foreign minister echoed that the missile violated NATO airspace as part of a large‑scale Russian strike. The incident underscores the growing risk of Russian weaponry affecting Polish territory amid ongoing conflicts in Ukraine.
“In all probability” Tusk said the crashed object was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that violated Polish airspace about 92 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The missile left a 10‑metre (33‑ft) crater a short distance from the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, and military experts identified recovered fragments that match the Kh‑101 design.
No casualties were reported, but the incident was taken very seriously, with Polish forces ready to intercept any further threats.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak‑Kamysz asserted that roughly 20 objects were observed near Polish airspace overnight, spurring pyrotechnical analysis.
Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha confirmed the missile had crossed into Poland as part of a massive Russian strike on Ukraine, violating NATO airspace.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Gen Alexus G Grynkewich, pledged continued defence measures over Polish territory.
Earlier this year, Russia has launched numerous drones and missiles into Polish soil, with two Polish farmers killed by a missile believed to be a Ukrainian air‑defence response to a Russian attack.
The incident occurs amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities such as Lviv and Kryvyih Rih, where at least eight people have died and dozens injured.
Tusk met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lublin the previous evening, just after Zelensky returned from talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
