Polish officials said on Aug. 20 that a Russian drone crashed overnight in a rural area of eastern Poland, describing the incident as a deliberate provocation amid international talks about ending the war in Ukraine.
This is not the first time a Russian drone has crashed on the territory of a NATO member.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that the object, which fell into a cornfield near the village of Osiny, was a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle. Osiny is located in Lublin Voivodeship, a province that borders Ukraine and Belarus.
"Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation using a Russian drone," Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters at a press conference in Warsaw, according to Rzeczpospolita.
"Russia once again provokes NATO countries — after drone incidents that took place in Romania, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as after airspace violations that occurred in almost all NATO countries," Kosiniak-Kamysz added.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Poland's Defense Ministry had briefed top military commanders, as well as security and foreign affairs officials, and that Poland's allies had been informed.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the incident was a fresh violation of Polish airspace "from the east" and announced that Warsaw would issue a diplomatic protest.
"There will be a protest from the Foreign Ministry against the perpetrator," Sikorski wrote on X.
A Polish military spokesman said the drone appeared to have flown very low to avoid radar detection and likely carried only a small amount of explosives.
General Dariusz Malinowski, a senior Polish commander, told reporters that initial analysis indicated the device was a decoy, powered by a commercially available Chinese-made engine.
According to Malinowski, such drones are typically used to confuse air defenses and then self-destruct. A special investigation team has been appointed to examine the wreckage.
Poland, a NATO member on the alliance's eastern border, has repeatedly accused Moscow of testing its defenses and attempting to destabilize the region through drone flights and airspace violations.
Made by Google 2025: all the Pixel news and announcements