Poland to demand Russian explanation over cruise missile incursion

Following a nighttime breach of Polish airspace by a Russian cruise missile launched against cities in western Ukraine, Poland warned on Sunday that it will demand an explanation from Moscow.

As Moscow intensifies its assaults on its western neighbour, Poland said the missile was a component of a Russian bombardment of targets in Ukraine.

“Above all, we ask the Russian Federation to end its terrorist airstrikes against the population and territory of Ukraine, to end the war and to focus on the country’s own internal problems,” foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said in a statement.

Following a “massive attack” on Ukraine by Russia, Poland activated “all air defence systems, all air force systems”, the country’s Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

According to him, “had there been any indication it was heading for a target on Polish territory,” the missile would have been shot down.

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Around 400 metres (1,300 feet) above the earth, the missile was moving at over 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph), according to the army. It had crossed the border into Poland by around two miles.

“Polish airspace was breached by one of the cruise missiles fired in the night by the air forces… of the Russian Federation,” the army wrote on X.

“The object flew through Polish airspace above the village of Oserdow (Lublin province) and stayed for 39 seconds,” the statement said, adding that it was tracked by military radar throughout its flight.

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“The Polish army is constantly monitoring the situation on Ukrainian territory and remains on permanent alert to ensure the security of Polish airspace,” the army said.

A similar incident occurred on December 29, 2023, when a Russian missile penetrated Polish airspace for several minutes before returning to Ukraine.

In November 2022, two people were killed when a Ukrainian air-defence missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, close to the Ukrainian border.

Before the missile was identified as Ukrainian, fears were raised that NATO – of which Poland is a member – would be dragged into an escalation of the conflict with Russia if its collective defence provisions were triggered.