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A Russian drone breached Polish airspace and exploded in a farmland in a village in the Lublin province overnight, although no injuries were reported.
Firefighters gather at the site where a Russian drone crashed in Poland. (Reuters)
A Russian drone reportedly breached Poland’s airspace on Wednesday, before exploding in a field in the eastern part of the country, with Warsaw labelling the incident as a “provocation”.
The drone hit and exploded in a farmland in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province overnight, just over 100 km from the Ukrainian border. No casualties were reported, but officials told AFP the windows of some houses were blown out.
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Notably, Poland had been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people.
“Once again, we are facing a provocation from the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone,” Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters. He highlighted that the incident took place when “peace talks were underway, where there is hope that this war… has a chance to end. Russia provokes once again.”
Poland To Issue Formal Protest
Polish General Dariusz Malinowski said the drone appeared to be a decoy which was designed to self-destruct, while containing a Chinese engine. The drone was believed to be a Russian drone model called Gerbera, which is often used as a decoy in multiple Russian drone and missile barrages against Ukraine.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation, but did not name the perpetrator. “Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence of our own territory.”
The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. This comes less than a month after a Russian military drone flew into Lithuania from Belarus.
It is worth mentioning that Poland has been a major supporter of Ukraine, and hosts over a million Ukrainian refugees and is a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.
“I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,” a Polish resident told Reuters. “It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.”
(with inputs from agencies)
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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