Missile that left crater deep inside Poland was probably Russian – Polish PM Tusk
The object that crashed into a field in eastern Poland early Thursday was “most likely” a Russian cruise missile and was armed, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
During a large-scale Russian attack on cities near Lviv, Kiev and Kryvyhi Rih, it left a 10 m wide (33 ft) crater a short distance from the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, 92 km (57 mi) from the Ukrainian border.
Tusk initially told a privately held meeting in the eastern city of Lublin that “all indications” were that the missile that violated Polish airspace was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
He later went to the scene and said that, according to military experts, “the majority of the recovered parts indicate that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile.”
Although no casualties were reported in the incident near Tarnawa Kolonia on Thursday, Poland’s prime minister made it clear that the incident was being taken very seriously.
The official said there was no immediate threat because it did not land in a residential area, adding “we would have been ready to shoot it if it had continued its flight.”
NATO said it was in close contact with Polish officials and that the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, stated that the Western defense alliance “will continue to take all necessary measures to defend NATO territory.”
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that about 20 objects were seen close to Polish airspace throughout the night and pyrotechnic analyzes were carried out.
Ukrainian Acting Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha had previously unequivocally stated that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile “violated NATO airspace and crossed into Poland as part of Russia’s major attack on Ukraine.”
Tusk said he was in contact with European leaders, and European Council President António Costa said Russia’s “massive combined attack on Ukraine” underlined once again that “Russia’s aggression is a threat to security as a whole.”
At least eight people were killed and dozens injured across Ukraine; among them are six members of a family living in a village near Kryvyih Rih. Dozens of people were also injured in Lviv, near Ukraine’s western border with Poland.
A number of Russian drones and one unarmed Russian missile have landed in Poland since Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
In November 2022, a missile crashed just over the Ukrainian border, killing two Polish farmers, but it was believed to be a Ukrainian air defense missile responding to a Russian attack.
The Polish military spotted the object around 3:40 a.m. Thursday and sent an F-16 fighter jet to intercept it before it disappeared from radar systems a few minutes later. Later, a military helicopter was sent to the area and a search was carried out.
Air raid sirens sounded in Lublin and Krasnystaw in the southeast due to Russia’s air strikes on neighboring Ukraine. Residents of Tarnawa Kolonia reported hearing a large explosion around 04:00 and police found the crash site about an hour later.
The Polish leader had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lublin the previous evening, as Zelensky was returning from his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
