Missile that left crater deep inside Poland was probably Russian - Polish PM
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- Polish PM Donald Tusk said military experts confirmed recovered fragments point to a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, which was armed and left a 10m-wide crater near the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, 92km from the Ukrainian border.
- Poland's military detected the object at 03:40 local time Thursday, scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to intercept, and was prepared to shoot it down if it had continued its flight, but it disappeared from radar minutes later.
- NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said the alliance was in close contact with Polish authorities and would 'continue to take all necessary measures to defend NATO territory.'
- Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha declared the missile had 'crossed into Poland as part of Russia's massive strike against Ukraine, violating NATO airspace,' with at least eight Ukrainians killed and dozens wounded in the broader attack wave on Lviv, Kyiv, and areas near Kryvyi Rih.
- Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said about 20 objects were seen close to Polish airspace overnight, as air raid sirens blared in Lublin and Krasnystaw due to the Russian airstrikes in neighboring Ukraine.
- The incident came hours after Tusk met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lublin, as Zelensky was returning from talks with US President Donald Trump.
Why it matters: An armed Russian missile penetrated NATO territory for what Polish officials called a serious incident, with Poland's defense minister reporting roughly 20 objects near Polish airspace overnight. Poland scrambled an F-16 and stood ready to engage, while the crash near a village 92km inside the border marks one of the deepest known incursions since two Polish farmers were killed by a missile in November 2022.
