Russian drone strikes near Ukraine-Poland border crossing

Key facts

• A Russian drone struck near the Yahodyn border crossing in Ukraine's Volyn Oblast on Sept. 28, 2026.
• The strike occurred several hundred meters from the Polish border.
• Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed the strike on Ukrainian territory.
• Polish airspace was not violated during the incident.
• Recent Russian drone incidents near the Polish border include strikes on Sept. 17 and Sept. 13.
• Poland will implement new procedures allowing radar identification alone to authorize the shooting down of objects entering from Russia.

A Russian drone struck near the Yahodyn border crossing in Ukraine's Volyn Oblast on Sept. 28, 2026, several hundred meters from the Polish border, Ukrainian and Polish officials reported. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the drone hit Ukrainian territory approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Dorohusk crossing and did not enter Polish airspace. He noted that Polish air defense systems and aircraft were prepared for action.

Sources within Ukraine's State Border Guard Service told Ukrainska Pravda that the drone struck several hundred meters from the border and did not cause damage to the Yahodyn crossing itself. Monitoring channels in Ukraine had reported Russian drones moving toward the Yahodyn crossing earlier that afternoon.

This incident is part of a pattern of recent Russian attacks near the Polish border. On Sept. 17, a Russian drone fell near a gas station in Yahodyn. Four days prior, on Sept. 13, a Russian drone struck a truck approximately 800 meters (0.5 miles) from the Polish border near the same crossing, and Russian forces also hit a passenger train locomotive destined for Warsaw on that day.

In response to increasing incursions of Russian munitions into Polish airspace during attacks on western Ukraine, Poland is set to alter its procedures for military aircraft and helicopters engaging targets originating from Russia. Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced on Sept. 28 that the current peacetime procedure, which requires visual confirmation of a target within Polish airspace before engagement, will be replaced. The new protocols will utilize "positive identification" based on radar readings alone to authorize pilots or operational commanders to shoot down such objects, according to Polish broadcaster RMF24.