Polish authorities have confirmed that the missile that fell and exploded in the Lublin Voivodeship on Thursday night was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. This was announced by Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk, after the initial analysis of the wreckage was completed.
According to information from the Polish side, the incident occurred at around 3:00 local time, when during the large-scale Russian air attack on Ukraine, about 20 missiles were heading towards the Polish border. One of them was pursued by a Ukrainian fighter jet, but the pursuit was terminated approximately 20 seconds before it entered Polish airspace.
After the missile entered Poland, Polish Air Force aircraft were scrambled, and security and investigative teams were sent to the crash site.
The spokesman for the Lublin District Prosecutor's Office, Marcin Kozak, announced that after examining the wreckage, it was determined that it was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, manufactured in the second quarter of 2026 at a plant in the Moscow region.
Polish authorities still cannot say whether the missile's entry into Polish territory was an accidental deviation during the attack on Ukraine or a deliberate Russian provocation. The investigation into the case is ongoing, Tomczyk said.
The incident occurred during one of the largest Russian air strikes against Ukraine since the start of the war. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier that there was no evidence that Poland was a direct target of the strike, but stressed that violating the airspace of a NATO member state was an extremely serious incident.