Tensions Rise in Poland, Tusk Says Object That Fell on Polish Territory Was Likely a Russian Missile

An unidentified object crashed into a field in eastern Poland in the early hours of Thursday. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said preliminary data indicated that it was most likely a Russian missile.

The object’s impact created a crater about 10 metres wide near the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, roughly 100 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The incident occurred as Russia was carrying out a massive attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

During a special meeting in the nearby city of Lublin, Tusk said: “Everything indicates that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile, but we want to be 100% certain about the type of missile and who launched it.”

Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, had also said earlier in the day that a Russian Kh-101 missile had entered Polish airspace during the attack on Ukraine, thereby violating NATO airspace.

Before visiting the site of the incident, the Polish prime minister spoke with several other European leaders. He confirmed that the incident caused no casualties, although he described it as serious.

“There was no immediate threat, as the object did not fall in a populated area. We were prepared to shoot it down if it had continued flying,” Tusk said.

According to Defence Minister Władysłaë Kosiniak-Kamysz, around 20 objects were detected near Polish airspace overnight. The authorities are analysing the data to determine what the object that crashed near Tarnawa Kolonia was.

The object was detected by the Polish military at around 3:40 a.m. An F-16 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept it, but the object disappeared from radar several minutes later. A military helicopter was subsequently sent to the area to carry out checks.

Following Russian strikes in neighbouring Ukraine, which killed eight people, air raid sirens were activated in Lublin and Krasnystaw. Residents of Tarnawa Kolonia said they heard a powerful explosion at around 4:00 a.m., while police located the crash site approximately one hour later.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, several Russian drones and one Russian missile without a warhead have landed on Polish territory.

In November 2022, a missile fell near the border with Ukraine and killed two Polish farmers. Subsequent assessments determined that it was a Ukrainian air defence missile launched in response to a Russian attack.