Russian Missile Lands Inside Poland During Massive Ukraine Attack

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a missile believed to have been fired by Russia landed deep inside Polish territory early Thursday as Moscow launched another wave of long-range attacks across Ukraine, CNN reported.

The missile reportedly exploded about 90 kilometres (55 miles) inside Poland, leaving a large crater in a field near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in Lublin province. Tusk said Polish air defence systems were ready to intercept the projectile had it continued on its course.

The incident came as Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to one of Russia’s largest overnight attacks on Ukraine, which killed at least eight people, including children, and left several others trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

According to Polish authorities, the missile crashed in an undeveloped area, while residents told police they heard a loud explosion.

“During the Russian massive missile attack on western Ukraine, a violation of Polish airspace occurred,” Tusk wrote on X. A government spokesperson later confirmed the prime minister was travelling to the crash site.

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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, also said a Russian cruise missile had “crossed into Poland as part of Russia’s massive strike against Ukraine” in a post on X.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence, however, said it carried out “a massive strike using long-range precision weapons from land, air, and sea” alongside attack drones targeting military sites across Ukraine.

The Polish military said its air defence systems tracked at least a dozen missiles over western Ukraine, warning that they posed a potential threat to Polish airspace.

The incident has heightened concerns over the risk of Russia’s war spilling into NATO territory, with any confirmed strike inside Poland likely to be viewed as a serious escalation. CNN said it had contacted NATO for comment.

The overnight bombardment followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House, where he appealed to US President Donald Trump for additional air defence systems.

According to Zelensky, Russia launched more than 70 missiles and over 280 attack drones during the assault, damaging or destroying homes, businesses and key infrastructure across Ukraine.

He said Ukrainian forces intercepted more than 260 drones despite what he described as a “critical shortage of air defense missiles from our partners.”

Before returning to Ukraine, Zelensky stopped in the Polish city of Lublin, where he met Tusk to discuss “the outcomes of (Zelensky’s) visit to the United States and the security of Poland, Ukraine, and all of Europe,” according to the Polish prime minister.

According to CNN, Poland has repeatedly scrambled fighter jets in response to Russian attacks near its border, although incursions into its airspace have remained rare.

In September last year, NATO fighter jets intercepted several Russian drones that entered Polish airspace, condemning Moscow’s actions as “absolutely dangerous behavior.”

The latest attacks also marked another deadly chapter for Ukraine, which has recorded its highest monthly civilian casualties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

At least one person was killed in Kyiv and another in the Poltava region, while in the village of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih, a ballistic missile destroyed a family home, killing two parents and three children.

“A ballistic missile blew a family home ‘into smithereens,’” Zelensky said, adding that two other children were rescued alive from the rubble.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, said two girls aged five and 12 were among those killed, describing it as a “dark night.”

Emergency crews also continued rescue operations in Lviv, where several people remained trapped beneath the rubble of a residential building, while dozens of others were injured across the country.

Meanwhile, in Russia, a warehouse belonging to online retailer Wildberries caught fire in the western city of Penza following what local authorities said was a Ukrainian drone attack.

Regional governor Oleg Melnichenko said one person was injured and about 200 people were evacuated from the facility.