A "very probably Russian" missile impacts Poland

BarcelonaPolish authorities have reported that an object of still unknown origin has violated Polish airspace and fell in its territory early this morning. "Everything indicates that it was a Russian Kh-101 ballistic missile, but we want to be 100% sure of the type of missile and who launched it," stated the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, who described the incident as "very serious." The Polish Minister of Defense, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, also confirmed that it is "very likely" to have been a Russian cruise missile. "The (Kh-101) missiles are used exclusively by Russia's strategic air force," added the head of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski.

The object was detected by the Polish armed forces around 3:40 AM but disappeared from their radar shortly after being sighted. The impact left a crater about 10 meters wide – as reported by the Ministry of the Interior on X – and debris in an unpopulated area near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia, in the Lublin Voivodeship, two kilometers from the nearest residential area. Tusk has suspended his agenda and rushed to the scene, where he met with a coordination cabinet comprising the Minister of Defense and high military commanders to analyze the recovered debris and assess the threat. In this regard, the leader of the Polish executive sought to de-escalate tensions by assuring that "there is no reason to believe that Poland was the target of the missile."

The reaction from allies was immediate. NATO Commander, General Alexus G. Grynkewich, met this Thursday with the Polish Chief of Defense, General Wieslaw Kukulan, to discuss a possible response. "NATO and Poland have activated their air and ground defenses" in response to Russian missiles entering Polish airspace, according to an email statement. The Secretary General of the military alliance, Mark Rutte, lamented that this incident is "another reckless act by Russia and a dangerous consequence of its war against Ukraine."

The European Commission has also shown its support for Kyiv. Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU is "helping Ukraine win this war in every possible way," and on the same day, it disbursed 3.47 billion euros to Kyiv to finance the acquisition of more drones, missiles, air defenses, and fighter jets.

The missile strike in Poland has coincided with a massive missile and drone attack by Russia against Ukraine tonight. At least nine people have died, including three minors, in Kyiv and other cities in the country. The largest number of victims occurred near Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, where, since the beginning of the war between both countries, many of its inhabitants have fled due to the attacks. According to Oleksandr Vilkul, military governor of the city, an Iskander-M ballistic missile directly hit the house where a large family lived, killing both parents and their three minor children. The Russian Minister of Defense justified the attack by alleging that in this locality is the Akvaplast factory which, according to him, was involved in the design and assembly of attack drones.

Kyiv and Poltava – an area located in central Ukraine – have also been attacked, killing two people. In Lviv, near Poland, rescue teams are working to free several people trapped in the rubble of two apartment buildings hit by Russian missiles, which have already caused 26 injuries. Regarding material damage, the Ukrainian president has counted dozens of residential buildings, businesses, and infrastructures destroyed in other areas such as Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk. In addition, Russian forces have attacked cargo ships in the Yuzni port while they were transporting military cargo.

The Kremlin has confirmed the attacks, but specifies that they were directed against companies in the military industry, telecommunications, and logistics centers in the affected cities. Zelensky has also assessed the attacks, stating that Russia has used more than 70 missiles and around 280 drones. The Ukrainian president has highlighted the importance of "the allies' willingness to provide missile defense" for the country's security.

On the other hand, Russia claims to have shot down 258 drones during the early hours of this Thursday, according to the Minister of Defense. Specifically, the Russian Ministry of Defense states that a drone attack has damaged three Wildberries warehouses, injuring one person and destroying around 10% of the storage capacity. This company has already been attacked in past Ukrainian offensives under accusation of supplying the Kremlin with components authorized for the production of combat drones. The port of Taman, in the southern Krasnodar region, has also suffered a drone attack that has caused "significant damage", according to authorities.

Although Kyiv has increased its air attacks against the Russian rear, Russian troops are advancing, albeit slowly, with the objective of creating a security strip. On this line, the Russian army has taken four Ukrainian localities this morning, one in the annexed region of Donetsk, and three more in the Kharkiv and Sumi regions.