PM Tusk says Russian missile appears to have come down in eastern Poland

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 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.

Tusk told an emergency meeting that everything suggested the object was a Russian Kh-101 missile, but Warsaw wanted to be 100% certain about the type of missile and who launched it.

"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.

The Kh-101, an air-launched cruise missile that can fly more than 2,500 km (1,553 miles), according to military experts, has been a workhorse of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in 2022.

No reason to think Poland was target

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 Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had discussed the situation with Tusk.

"This incident is yet another reckless act by Russia and a dangerous consequence of its war against Ukraine," Rutte wrote on X.

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 (0140 GMT) 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. — Reuters