Another alleged Russian projectile has breached NATO airspace, which resulted in Polish warplanes being scrambled as they prepared to shoot it down.
However, what's been declared a probable Russian ballistic missile crashed to the ground in an uninhabited field in eastern Poland, leaving a huge crater and scattered debris in its wake. Some European outlets have more simply called it an 'unidentified object'.
10-meter wide crater at impact site, via The TelegraphPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday addressed the overnight incident while visiting the impact site, saying, "All the indications are that it was a Russian Kh-101 ballistic missile, but we want to be 100% certain about the type of missile and who launched it."
"There was no direct threat because the missile landed in an uninhabited area. We were ready to shoot it down had it continued its flight," he added.
The operational command of Poland's armed forces said that "a helicopter crew located the probable crash site of the object in an undeveloped area near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in Lublin province," after it was seen at 3:40am local time.
"Officers discovered a crater and scattered debris from an unidentified object in a field located about 2 kilometers from the nearest buildings, between the villages," local police also stated on X.
There were reports of Polish air sirens sounding in some border areas overnight, given that across the border in Ukraine Russia was busy launching another major drone and missile attack.
President Zelensky addressed the huge scope of the latest overnight attacks, describing that at least eight people were killed across the country, with dozens more injured.
The attacks focused on the capital and another nine regions, he said, reaching as far west as Lviv region. In all the military said it intercepted by various means 265 drones and 55 missiles, while "preliminary information" indicated 11 missiles and 17 drones impacted across 20 sites.
"In a situation where we critically lack missiles for air defense from our partners, our soldiers are doing the seemingly impossible, demonstrating a very high level of professionalism," Zelensky stated. "This extraordinary expertise saves lives when the supply of missiles for air defense systems is insufficient or delayed."
As for these breaches of European or NATO airspace, which is spillover from the Ukraine war, there's been an uptick in these of late.
The sound of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile impacting near the village of Targowisko, eastern Poland, this morning.
In the video, you can hear the missile releasing two sets of flares as a countermeasure against air defence systems, confirming it was still intact up to one… pic.twitter.com/5FLhfTqx3L
In prior recent instances of drones entering neighboring airspace, particularly in Baltic countries and also Poland, NATO jets were scrambled - and in some cases drones are safely brought down via electronic intercept means.
But each instance creates new tensions between Russia and NATO, and the typical accusations and threats then fly. The Kremlin has of late been especially alarmed at the Trump administration transferring 5,000 US troops from Germany to Poland, near Russia's doorstep.
Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 11:05