PM Tusk says Russian Kh-101 missile likely crashed in eastern Poland

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Thursday that a suspected Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crashed in eastern Poland, approximately 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The missile's fall triggered a powerful explosion, resulting in a crater about 10 meters wide and scattering fragments in a field near Tarnawa-Kolonia and Tokary in Lublin province.

The incident occurred while Russia launched a massive missile attack on western Ukraine overnight, prompting Polish air defense radars to detect at least a dozen missiles that could have threatened the country's airspace. Polish Armed Forces Operational Command (DORSZ) dispatched an F-16 fighter jet to identify and intercept the object, which disappeared from radar at 3:46 a.m. Local police deployed counter-terrorism officers and security services to the site following the crash.

Ukrainian authorities offered Poland assistance in investigating the scene, while Polish President Karol Nawrocki discussed the incident with opposition-aligned President Karol Nawrocki. Opposition parties criticized the authorities for not providing residents with further information about the alarm, which lasted for about 13 minutes, and the lack of text messages with alerts from the Government Centre for Security (RCB).