Russian missile that crashed in Poland carried “significant amount” of explosive material

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Polish authorities have confirmed that the object that violated Polish airspace and crashed in eastern Poland was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile carrying a significant explosive payload.

The missile entered Poland during a period of intensive overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine, travelling around 100 km over Polish territory before exploding in a field in the Lublin region on Thursday morning.

“We can confidently confirm that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile, a cruise missile capable of carrying even nuclear warheads, which exploded on impact,” deputy defence minister Cezary Tomczyk told broadcaster TVN24 late on Thursday.

The object was “a potentially very dangerous missile,” Tomczyk added. Asked whether the incident could have been a deliberate move by Moscow, he said that no possibilities could be ruled out.

“We don’t know, and if we do find out, it will mainly be through intelligence. I’m sure the coming weeks will provide us with more answers,” the deputy minister said.

Tomczyk said Poland was working closely with Ukraine, adding that 20 of the roughly 70 missiles fired by Russia overnight from Wednesday to Thursday were at one point heading towards Poland.

“It is also worth noting that the vast majority of these missiles were shot down by Ukraine over Ukrainian territory, which clearly bore the full brunt of the attack,” he said.

He added that a Ukrainian pilot had tracked the missile that later fell on Polish territory but was unable to intercept it. “He turned back 20 seconds before reaching the border,” Tomczyk said, adding that the pilot “could not have flown into” Polish airspace.

Prosecutors who concluded their work at the site on Thursday said the missile contained a “significant amount of explosive material”.

Investigators collected fragments and soil samples from the impact site, where the explosion left a crater around 10 metres wide and 5 metres deep.

“The crater has been filled and the site handed back to its owner. The Territorial Defence Force combed through an area of approximately 3 km² and found numerous rocket debris, including propulsion components,” the Lublin prosecutor’s office said.

The incident came amid a political dispute in Poland over its air-defence capabilities. Earlier this month, the government confirmed it had transferred PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine, prompting opposition criticism that the move had weakened Poland’s defences.

Following the latest incident, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the government would, paradoxically, consider providing Ukraine with further military aid, including additional Patriot air-defence systems if necessary.

“Our intention is to ensure that Ukraine does not lose this war,” Tusk said.

The incident also prompted reactions from NATO allies and other world leaders.

The US ambassador to Poland, Thomas Rose, said that Washington was in close contact with Polish authorities and NATO allies following the incident.

“Any breach of a NATO ally’s territory is a matter we take extremely seriously,” Rose wrote on X. “We are coordinating closely with Polish authorities as the investigation proceeds and remain committed to defending Allied territory and upholding NATO’s collective security.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called the incident “yet another reckless act by Russia and a dangerous consequence of its war against Ukraine”. He said that NATO would continue to strengthen its readiness to defend against all threats.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the the attacks on Ukraine, saying that the violation of Polish airspace that accompanied them demonstrated “Russian ruthlessness and readiness to escalate”.

Johann Wadephul, Germany’s foreign minister, said the violations of Polish and Romanian airspace showed that Russia remained “the greatest threat to our security”. He reaffirmed Berlin’s support for Ukraine, as well as European Union and NATO allies.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Kancelaria Premiera/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.