Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said an object that crashed into a field in eastern Poland in the early hours of Thursday was probably a Russian missile.
The unidentified object caused a 10m-wide (33ft) crater a short distance from the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, 92km (57 miles) from the border with Ukraine during a large-scale Russian attack on the cities of Lviv, Kyiv and near Kryvyhi Rih.
Tusk said initially that “all the indications” were that the missile that violated Polish airspace was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, during a specially convened meeting in the eastern city of Lublin.
He then went to the site of the incident and said that according to military experts the majority of “recovered fragments point to it being a Russian Kh-101 missile”.
Although no casualties had been reported in Thursday’s incident near Tarnawa Kolonia, the Polish prime minister made clear it was being taken very seriously.
There was no immediate threat as it had not landed in a built-up area, he said, adding that “we were prepared to shoot it down if had continued its flight”.
Nato said it was in close contact with Polish authorities and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Gen Alexus G Grynkewich, said the Western defensive alliance would “continue to take all necessary measures to defend Nato territory”.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said about 20 objects were seen close to Polish airspace overnight and pyrotechnical analysis was being carried out.
Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha had earlier declared definitively that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile had “crossed into Poland as part of Russia’s massive strike against Ukraine, violating Nato airspace”.
She added: “It would seem that someone had control over her mobile phone after she died and was sending messages to distract the authorities and close friends from trying to track her down.”
Credit: bbc.com
