Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister has characterized a possible Russian drone crash on Polish soil as a “provocation,” occurring amidst ongoing diplomatic efforts by the United States and European leaders to compel Moscow to cease its conflict in Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the drone impacted a cornfield in Osiny, a village located in the eastern Lublin province, approximately 62 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that Wednesday’s incident bore resemblance to previous cases where Russian drones entered Lithuanian and Romanian airspace, and could be linked to efforts to end in Ukraine, the outlet reported.
“Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway,” Kosiniak-Kamysz informed journalists.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski conveyed to Reuters that some experts have suggested a Russian variant of the Iranian-developed Shahed drone was implicated in the recent event.
Polish General Dariusz Malinowski indicated that the drone had a and appeared to be a decoy designed to self-destruct.
The explosion shattered windows in several residences, but no injuries were sustained, the Polish PAP news agency reported.
At the location, police recovered charred fragments of metal and plastic debris.
“I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,” local resident Pawel Sudowski recounted to the local news website Lukow.tv. “It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.”
On X, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced that his ministry would issue a protest against violation without naming the perpetrator.
“Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence (sic) of our own territory,” he wrote.
This occurrence unfolded as the Trump administration continues to broker discussions between Russia and Ukraine aimed at concluding the bloody, three-year conflict. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of at the White House.
On Friday, he convened with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.