The Albany Gazette - Russia blamed for missile that blasted crater in Polish field

NATO and European leaders openly blamed Russia for the 4:00 am (0200 GMT) explosion in a field that shook residents of the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border, and the windows of their homes.

The massive hole and debris were found in a field two kilometers away, police said.

"From the analysis of most of the traces, the recovered fragments point to a Russian Kh-101 missile," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference near the crater.

"There is no reason to think that Poland was the target," he said, but added that two "objects" had violated Poland’s airspace.

"One of them definitely did, because we have its traces here, and the other was near the Polish border, but it was a very brief signal, so there were no consequences associated with it."

Poland -- a member of NATO and the European Union -- has experienced repeat incursions by missiles and drones during Russia's war on Ukraine since 2022.

- NATO activation -

The latest missile fell as Russia staged a massive deadly attack on the Lviv region in western Ukraine, near the border with Poland.

Tusk chaired a crisis unit meeting with Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski in Lublin, the nearest city to the village.

A military prosecutor's investigation has been opened to determine the origin and nature of the explosion.

NATO, Ukraine and European leaders strongly condemned Russia for breaching Poland's airspace.

A NATO spokesman, Martin O'Donnell, said "In response to a Russian missile of currently unknown type that entered Polish airspace and later crashed into Polish territory -- one of many missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine overnight -- NATO and Poland activated their air and ground defences."

He added that alliance commanders were "in close contact with the Polish authorities about the violation of Poland's airspace.

This intrusion "reminds us that there is nothing more urgent for our two countries than to counter our common, age-old enemy, which represents a direct threat to both our nations," Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on X, referring to Russia's attacks.

A Polish F-16 fighter jet took off after the missile was detected but lost track of it, authorities initially indicated.

Tusk said Polish air defence would have shot down the missile if it had deviated from its trajectory and headed toward populated areas.

In a message on X addressed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "in the strongest possible terms the Russian strikes that killed civilians in Ukraine, as well as the violation of Polish airspace".

"Our support for Ukraine and our allies will not weaken," he wrote.

"The Polish people are famously unafraid.. and our thoughts are with them," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X as she condemned the Russian attack.

"To put an end to this, we are helping Ukraine win this war in every way we can," she added.

During the night, Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones at Ukraine, killing at least eight people.

In November 2022, a Ukrainian air-defence missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, killing two people.

And in September 2025, around 20 Russian drones that entered Polish airspace were shot down or crashed.

Other European states have also been hit by Russian drones and missiles since 2022, particularly Romania and Moldova.

(E.Taylor--TAG)