It was the latest in a series of airspace incursions in NATO’s eastern flank prompting fear the Ukraine war is breaching the alliance’s borders.
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TARNAWA-KOLONIA, Poland – An object that came down in eastern Poland overnight appears to be a Russian missile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on July 29, 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 neighboringUkraine, 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 ofmissile 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 itcontinued its flight,” he added.
No reason to think Poland was target
Tusk later visited the site where the object fell, near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, more than 60 miles from theUkrainian 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, includingadditional Patriot systems. Bilateral relations have recently been strained amid 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.
A NATO spokesperson said Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus G. Grynkewich spoke with Poland’s Chief of Defense General Wieslaw Kukulan on July 29 to discuss the response to the incident.
The object left a crater about 33 feet wide, the interior ministry added on X. According to local authorities, it waslocated in farmland just over a mile from residential buildings.
Roman Bartoszek, who lives around 2.5 miles 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 (9:40 p.m. Eastern) and disappeared from radars soon afterwards.
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.