Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated Thursday that a missile which created a 10-metre crater in Polish territory was almost certainly launched by Russia during its ongoing assault on Ukraine.
NATO and European Union officials condemned the 4am incident in the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, located 80km from the border, which disrupted local residences and caused significant ground damage.
“Analysis of recovered fragments confirms this was a Russian Kh-101 missile,” Tusk confirmed during a press briefing near the impact zone.
“There is no evidence suggesting Poland was the intended target,” he explained, while noting that two aerial objects had entered Polish airspace.
“One of these left definitive traces in our airspace,” Tusk said, “though the second signal was too brief to result in any physical consequences.”
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The missile strike coincided with Russia’s large-scale assault on Lviv in western Ukraine, near Poland’s border region.
Tusk organized an emergency coordination meeting in Lublin with defense and interior ministers to address the incident.
Polish authorities have initiated a military investigation into the attack’s origin and circumstances.
NATO condemned the breach of Polish airspace, with spokesperson Martin O’Donnell stating: “NATO and Poland activated our defense systems in response to this Russian missile entering our territory.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga emphasized on X: “This underscores the urgent need for both nations to address Russia’s persistent threats.”
A Polish F-16 jet was scrambled but lost contact with the missile before impact, as officials initially reported.
“Our air defenses would have intercepted it if it had deviated toward populated areas,” Tusk reiterated.
“The Polish people are remarkably resilient… Our solidarity with them is unwavering,”
— Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President
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“We are supporting Ukraine comprehensively to ensure its victory,” von der Leyen added.
Russian forces launched 74 missiles and 284 drones against Ukraine overnight, resulting in at least eight fatalities.
This isn’t the first such incident: A Ukrainian air-defense missile struck Poland in November 2022, killing two civilians. Similar drone incursions occurred in September 2025, with 20 Russian drones intercepted or crashed.
Other European nations, particularly Romania and Moldova, have also faced Russian missile and drone attacks since 2022.
Reporting by AFP via France 24
