A Russian drone has reportedly breached Polish airspace during one of Putin’s most significant attacks on Ukraine this year. Despite the intrusion by hostile Russia into a NATO member’s territory, Polish forces were unable to intercept the drone, which subsequently vanished, according to reports.
The incident was initially reported by Ukrainian military news outlet, Militarnyi. On Sunday, Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine’s capital since the war began, deploying drones and missiles that resulted in four deaths across the country and damaged a key government building.
During this assault, around 1.13am, a Russian drone crossed into Polish airspace from Volyn Oblast in northwestern Ukraine, continuing its flight towards Zamo, a city in Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship. The news emerges as Putin issues chilling threat to UK and NATO as he speaks of ‘legitimate target’.
Citing analysis from Ukrainian monitoring groups and official statements from Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces, Militarnyi reported that the drone was detected within Polish territory, where it remained for at least thirty minutes before disappearing from tracking channels.
There was no confirmation about where it crashed or whether it continued flying. Around 1.41am, several monitoring channels reported activity from Polish fighter jets in the same area where the drone had been observed.
By 2.06am, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces posted a statement confirming that Polish and allied aircraft were operating in national airspace, reports the Express US.
The statement highlighted that air defence and radar reconnaissance systems were operating at “the highest level of readiness.”
It underscored the “preventive” nature of the measures, stating the goal was to safeguard Polish airspace and protect civilians, especially near the border.
Later that night, the Polish military confirmed it was “monitoring the current situation” and that its forces remained ready to respond immediately.
No further updates about the drone’s location or condition have been given. The last known reports placed it several dozen kilometres inside Polish airspace, where it had lingered for more than half an hour.
Polish officials did not report any debris recovery. There were no indications that the drone was destroyed or forced to land.
The incident ended without confirmation of what happened to the drone after it disappeared from radar.
