Ukrainian combatant jets tried to sprout down Russian missiles adjacent the separator pinch Poland connected Thursday; however, astatine slightest 1 breached Polish airspace, Western officials said.
US Army Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesperson for NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, told Business Insider NATO and Poland activated their air and crushed defenses "in consequence to a Russian rocket of presently chartless type that entered Polish airspace" and collapsed wrong the country.
O'Donnell said 2 Polish F-16s, a NATO A330 refueling aircraft, a Polish Saab 340 airborne early warning plane, and a Polish Mi-24 helicopter were each scrambled successful response.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said astatine the weapon's clang tract that, per the "military's appraisal regarding the rocket fragments, everything points to the truth that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile."
He said location is nary denotation to propose that Poland was deliberately attacked. He added that Ukrainian combatant jets had tracked and attempted to destruct Russian missiles up to the border.
The Kh-101, known by NATO arsenic the AS-23 Kodiak, is an air-launched cruise missile pinch a maximum velocity of astir 600 mph that Russia often uses successful large-scale attacks against Ukraine. Russia launched complete 60 Kh-101s arsenic portion of an overnight barrage, the Ukrainian Air Force said successful a statement.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's overseas minister, said a Kh-101 cruise rocket crossed into Poland, "violating NATO airspace" during the attack.
Earlier connected Thursday, the Polish military said that radars recorded astatine slightest a twelve missiles supra occidental Ukraine. One "object" came wrong a fewer miles of the separator astatine astir 3:30 a.m. section time, but changed directions and headed east.
10 minutes later, astatine 3:40 a.m., an "unidentified object" was detected wrong Polish airspace heading west, but it past vanished from radars astatine 3:46 a.m. earlier it could beryllium identified, the subject said. It located "the probable clang site" adjacent Tarnawa-Kolonia successful southwestern Poland. The tract is 60 miles from the border.
Tusk later said that the munition near a 10-meter-wide, 5-meter-deep crater that was accordant pinch the explosive payload of a Kh-101.
Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its embassy successful the US responded to a petition for remark connected the Polish and Ukrainian assessments.
Russian drones person crossed into Polish airspace many times since the commencement of the full-scale warfare against Ukraine, including dozens of craft successful a September 2025 incident that prompted NATO to surge aerial defense assets to the Eastern flank. However, it is overmuch rarer for a Russian rocket to violate Polish airspace. Previous incidents were besides overmuch person to its separator pinch Ukraine.
O'Donnell said that NATO "is successful adjacent interaction pinch the Polish authorities astir the usurpation of Poland's airspace."
This latest incident comes amid a drawstring of NATO airspace violations. Last weekend, Russian drones crossed into Romania respective days successful a row, and F-16 combatant jets were scrambled each clip to intercept them.
Russia launched much than 70 missiles — including 61 Kh-101 cruise missiles — and astir 300 drones arsenic portion of the massive overnight attack connected Ukraine, which intercepted astir of the munitions. At slightest 8 group crossed the state were killed, though.
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