'Immediately clarify the incident' — Home damaged during Russian drone incursion may have been hit by Polish missile, media reports
Editor's note: This is a breaking story and is being updated.
Political pressure in Poland is mounting amid reports that a home damaged during Russia's drone incursion on Sept. 10 may have been caused by a Polish missile.
Polish media publication Rzeczpospolita reported on Sept. 16 that the damage caused to a home in the village of Wyryki, initially believed to have been a Russian drone, may have been caused by an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile fired by a Polish F-16 fighter jet.
The missile reportedly failed to properly deploy while being fired defending the airspace from the Russian drones, Rzeczpospolita reported, citing findings and sources from state security agencies. A source told the publication that the missile did not explode "because the fuse's safety devices were activated."
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the claims
The home, located around 20 km from the Ukrainian border, was initially reported to have sustained damage to the roof and a car parked on the property, Polsat News reported, citing a local police official. No casualties were reported.
Nineteen Russian drones were recorded crossing into Poland on Sept. 10, in what became the largest attack on a NATO member state since the start of Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine.
In response to reports, Poland's National Security Bureau issued a statement on X on behalf of President Karol Nawrocki demanding that the Polish government "to immediately clarify the incident."
"It is up to the Government to use all available tools and institutions to explain this matter as quickly as possible. There can be no consent to withholding information. In the face of disinformation and hybrid warfare, the messages conveyed to Poles must be verified and confirmed," the agency wrote on behalf of Nawrocki.
In response to the calls, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk deflected responsibility, shifting blame to Russia for its violation of Polish airspace.
"All responsibility for the damage to the house in Wyryki rests with the perpetrators of the drone provocation, namely Russia," Tusk wrote on X, adding that information on the incident will be publicly communicated once an investigation concludes.
"Hands off Polish soldiers," Tusk concluded in his post, in reference to Nawrocki's comments.
Nawrocki, a right-wing nationalist, has often clashed with Tusk since being elected earlier this year, underscoring the nation's growing social and political divisions.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi previously warned not to cast doubt on Russia’s responsibility for violating Polish airspace after Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said that he wants "to believe that the drones that penetrated Polish territory were drones that went there not to attack Poland but were supposed to end up on Ukrainian territory."
Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces wrote in a post on X that it has been "providing all available information and subsequent conclusions from the analysis of the incident" to relevant authorities "on an ongoing basis and without any omission."
In response to the incursion, NATO launched its Eastern Sentry mission aimed at curtailing Russia's ability to interfere in alliance members' airspace.
As part of the mission, Czechia will provide Mi-171S helicopters, the U.K. will provide Typhoon fighter jets, Denmark will contribute two F-16s and an anti-air warfare frigate, France will contribute three Rafales, and Germany will contribute four Eurofighters.
