An object that came down in eastern Poland overnight appears to be a Russian missile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, after authorities found a crater and scattered debris in a field following reports of an explosion.
It was the latest in a series of airspace incursions in countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania and the Baltic states, that have fueled fears of the war in Ukraine spilling over the alliance’s borders.
Poland scrambled fighter jets to secure its airspace after Russian airstrikes killed at least eight people in neighboring Ukraine, in attacks that extended as far as the western city of Lviv.
“All the indications are that it was a Russian Kh-101 ballistic missile, but we want to be 100% certain about the type of missile and who launched it,” Tusk told an emergency meeting.
“There was no direct threat because the missile landed in an uninhabited area; we were ready to shoot it down had it continued its flight,” he added.
Tusk later visited the site where the object fell, near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, just over 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
“There is no reason to think the target was Poland,” he said, adding that Ukrainian fighter pilots had attempted to shoot down missiles approaching the Polish border.
Tusk vowed to maintain support for Ukraine, saying his government would consider providing further aid, including additional Patriot systems. Bilateral relations have recently been strained by disputes over history.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said earlier in a post on X that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Poland.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
NATO, Poland coordinate to prevent war from spreading westward
A NATO spokesperson said Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus G. Grynkewich spoke with Poland’s Chief of Defense General Wieslaw Kukulan on Thursday to discuss the response to the incident.
Grynkewich “underlined that NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to defend NATO territory,” the spokesperson said.
Missile lands in open farmland, posing no immediate danger
The object left a crater about 10 m (33 ft) wide, the interior ministry added on X. According to local authorities, it was located in farmland about 2 km from residential buildings.
Local resident Roman Bartoszek, who lives around four kilometers from where the object fell, said he had heard aircraft overhead and his windows had shaken.
The operational command of Poland’s armed forces said an object had been detected in Polish airspace at 3:40 a.m. local time and disappeared from radars soon afterward.
An Mi-24 helicopter later went to the crash site. Police had received reports of a large bang and went to the site, where they found the crater.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the incident an “unacceptable violation” of the EU’s airspace.
“To put an end to this, we are helping Ukraine win this war in every way we can. And we are building a robust European security architecture on land, at sea and in the air,” she wrote on X.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the “strike in Poland also testifies to Russian recklessness and willingness to escalate. We stand unswervingly at the side of our partners.”
