An unidentified airborne object crashed in eastern Poland early Thursday during Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine, leaving behind a 10-meter-wide crater and scattered debris, said Polish authorities.
The object was detected moving westward through Polish airspace at 3:40 a.m., said Poland’s Operational Command. An F-16 fighter jet was sent to identify and intercept it, but the object disappeared from radar six minutes later, before it could be identified.
A Mi-24 attack helicopter subsequently located the probable crash site in an undeveloped area near Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin province — a region near the Ukrainian border. Police found a crater and debris in a field about 2 kilometers from the nearest buildings after residents reported a loud explosion, according to local police. No casualties were reported.
Polish authorities have not yet determined whether the object was a drone or missile, or established its origin, but Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha claimed on X that it was “a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile” that crossed into Poland, “violating NATO airspace.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is on his way to the site, said government spokesperson Adam Szłapka.
“I have convened a coordination team with the participation of the Minister of Defense and the relevant services, which have been working on-site for many hours and are systematically providing me with information about all the circumstances of the incident,” wrote Tusk on social media.
In the aftermath of the crash, Poland urgently launched fighter jets and briefly activated air-raid sirens in Lublin.
“This is yet another clear demonstration that strengthening Ukraine’s air defense now is urgent and serves as a guarantee for the protection of the entire Euro-Atlantic community,” Sybiha said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed eight people were killed during the strikes on social media, adding that three children and their parents in the Dnipro region were among the victims.
He also reiterated his call for help from Ukraine’s allies. “Untimely assistance and delays in the delivery of anti-ballistic missiles lead to this kind of destruction, these kinds of casualties that, unfortunately, we are seeing today,” he wrote.
Ferdinand Knapp contributed to this report.
