Poland: Missile that fell on Polish soil likely a Russian Kh-101
Prime Minister Donald Tusk says debris points to a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile; no injuries after it struck a field near Tarnawa Kolonia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said early this morning that the object which fell into a field in eastern Poland is very likely a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. The projectile created a crater roughly 10 metres wide near the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, about 92 km from the Ukrainian border, and landed during a large-scale Russian air attack on Ukrainian cities.
Authorities: no casualties, investigations under way
Polish authorities reported there were no injuries because the missile struck an uninhabited area. The Polish armed forces said they were prepared to shoot the object down had it continued moving deeper into Polish airspace. Further forensic examinations of the debris are being carried out by military and technical teams.
NATO officials said they are in continuous contact with Polish authorities as the investigation proceeds. Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrij Sibiha, described the incident as another breach of Alliance airspace by Russia.
The fall of the projectile coincided with what Warsaw and Kyiv described as massive Russian aerial strikes on Ukraine. Those attacks left at least eight people dead and dozens wounded in multiple locations, according to initial reports.
Poland has briefed NATO partners and will publish findings from the analysis of the wreckage when they are available. For now, officials stress that the priority is to secure the site, complete technical identification of the munition, and rule out any remaining hazards to the local population.
Photo: press material from the event
