A suspected Russian military drone crashed into a cornfield in eastern Poland early Wednesday, exploding on impact and damaging several nearby homes in the latest incident, heightening tensions along NATO’s eastern flank.
The drone came down near the village of Osiny, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Warsaw and roughly the same distance from the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders. Local media footage showed a flash of light followed by a loud blast, with shattered windows reported in several houses, but no injuries.
Police called by residents found burnt debris made of plastic and metal at the site, while photos published by the portal Onet showed what appeared to be a charred engine with a propeller. The crash left a crater measuring about six meters in diameter and half a meter deep, prosecutors said. It remained unclear whether the explosion happened in midair or upon impact.
“At this stage, we are dealing with a military drone. The damage was most likely caused by explosives. A military expert is on the way to confirm these circumstances,” district Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz said, ruling out the possibility of a civilian drone but stressing that full conclusions would follow an investigation.
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed later Wednesday that the drone was of Russian origin, calling the incident a “provocation.” “Russia is once again provoking the NATO states,” he said, noting the attack came as international efforts continued to push for peace in Ukraine. He added that all NATO allies had been informed.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X that the strike was “another violation of our airspace from the East” and stressed that “Poland’s most important mission within NATO is the defense of our own territory.” He said Warsaw would lodge a formal protest against Moscow.
Poland, a member of both NATO and the European Union, has been one of Kyiv’s most vocal backers since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, supplying arms, aid and training while also ramping up its own defense capabilities.
The incident revived memories of November 2022, when a missile struck the Polish border village of Przewodów, killing two men. That projectile was later determined to have been a stray Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile fired during Russian bombardments.
