Russia ‘violated’ Poland's airspace during it massive air strike on Ukraine

Poland said that a drone had likely entered its airspace early on Monday morning during a Russian bombardment of Ukraine, adding that the object may have landed on Polish territory and that searches were underway.

The NATO-member has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck the Polish village of Przewodow in southern Poland killing two people in 2022.

Russia launched more than 100 missiles and around 100 attack drones at Ukraine during Monday’s morning rush hour, killing at least five people and striking energy facilities nationwide, officials said.

“Most likely it was a drone and we assume so, because the trajectory of the flight and the speed indicate that it was definitely not a missile,” Jacek Goryszewski, spokesperson for the Polish army’s operational command told Reuters.

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“The object is being searched for by 100 soldiers on the ground and one helicopter.”

He said it was impossible to say whether the object was Russian or Ukrainian as weather conditions had not allowed for visual identification.

Separately, Goryszewski told reporters that the object had entered Poland’s airspace at 0443 GMT near the Ukrainian town of Chervonohrad. He said radars had lost track of the object at 0500 GMT, adding that it was possible it had left Poland’s airspace and that there had been no reports of explosions.

He said that because the army could not visually identify the object they could not shoot it down, although they had been ready to do so.

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Poland had earlier said that jets had been scrambled in the south of the country due to the attack on Ukraine.

In December 2023, Poland said that a Russian missile had entered its airspace. In April 2023, a military object was found in a forest close to the village of Zamosc near the northern city of Bydgoszcz. It was later reported to be a Russian missile.

Also in March this year Poland said Russia had violated its airspace with a cruise missile launched at targets in western Ukraine.

Fellow NATO-member Romania has reported finding fragments of Russian drones on its territory, most recently in July.