Key facts
- A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile entered Polish airspace on July 30 during a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine.
- The missile landed in a field in Poland's Lublin region.
- Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk confirmed the incident and called it a provocation.
- Tomczyk stated that Ukrainian air defenses intercepted about 20 Russian missiles heading toward Poland.
- A Ukrainian pilot pursued the missile that landed in Poland until shortly before it crossed the border.
- Warsaw is considering supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense missiles.
A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile entered Polish airspace and landed in a field in eastern Poland on July 30 during a large-scale Russian aerial assault on Ukraine, according to Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk.
Tomczyk confirmed the incident in an interview with RMF24, stating it was a "provocation" and an "alliance test." He added that approximately 20 Russian missiles were heading toward Poland but were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses. A Ukrainian fighter pilot reportedly pursued the missile that landed on Polish territory until just before it crossed the border, turning back about 20 seconds prior to avoid engagement with Polish F-16 jets.
The Polish Air Force scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to intercept an unidentified object that entered its airspace at 3:40 a.m. local time, but it disappeared from radar six minutes later. The missile reportedly landed near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, approximately 90 kilometers from the Polish-Ukrainian border and 150 kilometers northwest of Lviv, where at least 38 people were injured in the attack.
Following the incident, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Warsaw would consider supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense missiles. This event marks the latest in a series of instances where Russian missiles and drones have entered Polish airspace since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including a Dec. 29, 2023, incident and a Nov. 15, 2022, strike that killed two civilians, which was later attributed to a stray Ukrainian air defense missile.