Russian Cruise Missile Entered Polish Airspace During 'Massive' Missile Attack On Ukraine
Overnight, Ukraine's capital of Kiev as well as Lviv in the West came under a "massive" Russian aerial attack, Ukraine officials said, describing that in total 29 cruise missiles and 28 drones were launched.
Ukraine's military said it was able to intercept 18 of the missiles and 25 drones, but significantly one of the Russian cruise missiles reportedly breached Polish airspace while en route, causing Warsaw to demand answers.
Poland scrambled NATO F-16 jets in response to the breach which it said occurred at about 4:40am near the village of Oserdów on the Polish-Ukraine border.
"The object flew into Polish [air]space near the village of Oserdow (Lublin Voivodeship) and spent 39 seconds in it," Poland's Operational Command said. "It was observed by military radar systems throughout its flight." Over half a minute is a very significant amount of time for a cruise missile to spend over Poland.
Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters in a briefing, "As last night’s rocket attack on Ukraine was one of the most intense since the beginning of the Russian aggression, all the strategic procedures were launched on time and the object was monitored until it left the Polish air space."
The incident occurred as other Russian missiles were raining down around the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, and the missile entered up to about one or two kilometers inside Poland, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
The defense ministry in follow-up stated, "Above all, we call on the Russian Federation to stop the terrorist air attacks on the inhabitants and territory of Ukraine, end the war, and address the country’s internal problems."
Since the war began there's been a few similar incidents of an errant missile entering Poland. In one of the most notable, which occurred in November 2022, it was later determined that a stray Ukrainian anti-air missile hit a Polish border village, tragically killing two people.
The Zelensky government has meanwhile continued to desperately appeal for more anti-air defense systems and missiles from the West.
In this latest overnight missile and drone raid, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko announced early Sunday that there are "explosions in the capital" while urging to populace, "do not leave shelters" - given that "air defense is not working."
